


Little Brave

by honjatmal



Series: The Little Things [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Ambiguous Relationships, Crushes, Developing Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, Veterinary Clinic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-08-08 22:50:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 39,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16438346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honjatmal/pseuds/honjatmal
Summary: “Kkami? Patient Kkami?” Seungmin called out, but his voice was drowned out by the noise. He tried again, but he got no response.Jisung grabbed the file from him, and gave it a quick glance, then raised his head. He opened his mouth wide and shouted, “HWANG HYUNJIN-NIM? PLEASE COME OVER TO THE TRIAGE DESK. IMMEDIATELY!” His loud, crisp voice rang across the lobby. Everyone inside turned quiet, including Seungmin, but in his case, due to embarrassment. They were veterinary medicine students, not fishmongers in a wet market.or: Hyunjin takes his pet to the vet, and Seungmin is there to help him out.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I have no medical background whatsoever, so descriptions of illnesses, treatments and procedures are very likely to be inaccurate and are only based on personal experience and a bit of Google.

Seungmin was still bitter about his half-eaten rice bowl when he and Jisung, his shift partner for that day, dragged their feet to the triage desk. Minho, one of the senior interns in charge, had summoned them both just as soon they had settled into the cafeteria for lunch. Sick pets and their respective owners were pouring in, he said, and they were the only free interns left. While none of the cases seemed truly urgent, the lobby would soon fill to the brim if they don’t start getting to the ones still waiting.

“What the hell is going on today?” Seungmin muttered, frowning as he examined the waiting area by the triage desk. Beside him, Jisung only sighed, his mouth turned upside down as well. He had been complaining how hungry he was all morning, so Seungmin could imagine how terrible it had been for his lunch to be cut short.  

Woojin, the other senior intern just shook his head in response. “I don’t know. I hope it’s not an outbreak of any sort,” he replied then pursed his lips while he organized the tall stack of folders in front of him that represented the queue of patients waiting to be accommodated.

Meanwhile, Minho, wearing a cheeky grin on his face, handed Seungmin and Jisung their patient’s file. “New patient. Have fun.”

“Hyung!” Jisung protested, even stomping one foot. Seungmin groaned in exasperation behind him as he examined the file.

Kkami. Male, seven years old, black Japanese chin with white markings. Last vaccination was just two months ago. Owned by a certain Hwang Hyunjin. Seungmin turned the file around, hoping there was more to the file as it would be with a patient who’s visited the teaching hospital before, but alas, it was now their job to fill the whole form out.

“That’s _sunbaenim_ for you,” Minho corrected Jisung, his tone still teasing despite the stress everyone else was under.. “Now _go_. Kkami doesn’t have all day. Who knows, I might let you two resume lunch after this.”

Seungmin spoke no more and grabbed Jisung by the sleeve of his scrub suit and led the way to the waiting area, just a few steps away from the triage desk. There were indeed a lot of patients that day. All the seats  were filled by anxious owners and their sick pets. There was a lot of chatter going on, mixed with a lot of barking and meowing. The collective sound grated on Seungmin’s ears, and Jisung whining about his hunger and Minho always giving them a hard time beside him was not helping.

“Kkami? Patient Kkami?” Seungmin called out, but his voice was drowned out by the noise. He tried again, but he got no response.

Jisung grabbed the file from him, and gave it a quick glance, then raised his head. He opened his mouth wide and shouted, “HWANG HYUNJIN-NIM? PLEASE COME OVER TO THE TRIAGE DESK. IMMEDIATELY!” His loud, crisp voice rang across the lobby. Everyone inside turned quiet, including Seungmin, but in his case, due to embarrassment. They were veterinary medicine students, not fishmongers in a wet market.

The silence was broken by a loud, “Sorry! I’m here!” spoken in a frantic tone with a slight lisp. Seungmin turned his gaze to where the voice came from and found a tall male, dressed in baggy clothes and a bucket hat, with a pet carrier  in one hand, jogging towards them from the far corner of the lobby.

“I’m Hwang Hyunjin, sorry.” The client gave Seungmin and Jisung a deep, but hasty bow as soon as he neared them. Up close, Seungmin could make out that the client was probably not much older or younger than them, though the bucket hat hid most of the upper half of his face. Seungmin then turned his eyes to the dog inside the carrier. He could tell there was indeed a small black-and-white dog inside, but he couldn’t glean any more than that.

“It’s fine,” Jisung answered with a grin. That reminded Seungmin that they were facing a client now, and it’s time to turn on his nice-person switch.

He gave the client a small, polite smile as well. “Please come with us to the examination room,” he said and waited for their client to acknowledge that before he started leading the way, walking briskly to the row of examination rooms on the western wing of the teaching hospital’s building.

\--

Once inside the examination room, Jisung requested for their client to take Kkami out of the carrier and place it on top of the tall metal table at the center of the room. Seungmin then directed their client to take a seat, while he took a pen out of his pocket. The client did so while taking off his hat, allowing Seungmin to have a better view of his features: dark eyebrows, sharp-looking eyes, tall nose, pale skin, and prominent lips. Seungmin then sharply returned his gaze to the file.

“May I ask what brings you here and Kkami today?” asked Seungmin, adding a hint of a worried tone to his voice. His eyes darted towards the dog, which Jisung was trying to calm down enough to place it on the weighing scale. Kkami barely offered any resistance, however.

“He hasn’t eaten since yesterday,” the client answered right away, his voice tense and his speech largely formal. “And his... his… Kkami’s...”

Seungmin noticed the client become flustered, and realized what he was trying to say. “Hold on.” Seungmin took out a card showing a canine stool scale from his pocket and showed it to Hyunjin. “Please choose between 1 to 7.”

The client looked relieved that he didn’t have to say it out loud, but only briefly, it seemed. “It’s at… number 7.” As soon as he answered, he looked even more worried than before. “I couldn’t remember the.... medical way of saying it..”

“ _Poop_ would have been fine, actually,” Seungmin found himself saying with an edge to his voice. He quickly forced a smile to undo what damage that could have done. “I mean, it doesn’t matter what term you use, don’t worry about it,” he said in a gentler tone. He then took the card back and wrote down the client’s answer. “Since--”

“Do you have a thermometer?” Jisung interrupted. With a heavy sigh, Seungmin produced his thermometer from his pocket and wearily handed it to Jisung. Each intern was required to carry with them a complete set of equipment at all times, a thermometer included, but Jisung always seemed to misplace his, and even the ones he already borrowed. The thermometer he was handing Jisung was already a replacement of one Jisung previously lost.

“Our Seungminnie is prepared as always,” Jisung praised as he received the thermometer, grinning widely. He turned to the client. “He even has that fancy card. You’ve got the smartest and most thoughtful intern around here handling your dog, sir, everything will be fine.”

Seungmin took in a deep breath, reining in all urge to strangle Jisung right then and there. He was pretty sure Jisung was trying to flatter him so he wouldn’t be too annoyed about having to lend a thermometer _again_ , but in his state, Jisung’s words registered as mockery. He was too tired and hungry to deal with anything; he just wanted this interview to be over and done with.

Upon resuming the interview, however, Seungmin realized realized this wouldn’t be ending anytime soon. The client answered all his questions in great detail, _too much_ detail even, and seemed to worriedly ask two questions in return of each one. Seungmin even learned that their client had recently moved into the neighborhood with a childhood friend. He took that down as well, however, despite feeling his right hand scream and the form soon running out of space. That made the interview seem twice as long than it already should be, and his hunger didn’t help. By the time Jisung had already finished taking the dog’s vitals and returned Kkami to their client’s arms, they still weren’t halfway through the list of questions. Seungmin’s patience was starting to run thin.

“So where do you get his water?” he asked, forcing a smile just right after the client gave him one extra detailed answer. Seungmin was close to rolling his eyes, but he reminded himself to keep his cool..

“I give him tap water-- Should I be giving him filtered water? Mineral? Boiled?” The worried frown on their client’s face deepened.

“Well, if you’ve been giving him tap water since he was a puppy, then tap water should be fine,” Seungmin answered. Jisung nudged him with his elbow, which made Seungmin realize belatedly that his tone came out sharper than he intended or what could be considered polite. He straightened up in his seat, readying himself to apologize, but the client, surprisingly, beat him to it.

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to ask such an obvious question.” The client, flustered, waved both hands in front of him, and nodded his head.

Seungmin opened his mouth to apologize, but Jisung interrupted him. “Dude, it’s fine, just ask what you want and we’ll try to answer. We’re only students, though, so keep in mind that the doctor will almost always know better,” his shift partner said, grinning widely. “Seungminnie here’s just hungry, that’s all.” Jisung even let out a laugh.

It was Seungmin’s turn to give Jisung a nudge. Speaking with the client informally was against the rules, and he didn’t appreciate the status of his stomach being revealed to the client, but then, that seemed to help their client relax, plus it was Seungmin’s fault anyway that Jisung had to do that. The interview went on quickly after that. Despite Jisung’s reassurance, their client stopped asking questions, and only spoke when asked.. There were a couple of times their client opened his mouth to say something more, but pursed his lips immediately. Seungmin felt a little bad, but then, Jisung had already reassured him that asking questions was fine, and he felt that it wasn’t his fault anymore.

\----

After the interview, Jisung and Seungmin found the doctor in the neighboring examination room, and they discussed the information they had gathered. Jisung and Seungmin administered a couple more tests, until they came to the conclusion that Kkami was suffering from an infection in the digestive tract, though how that came to be was hard to pinpoint. The doctor prescribed drugs and a special diet to fight off the infection and restore the dog’s appetite and strength, and assured the client that he brought Kkami early enough and he’s generally out of danger. They were to return in three days, and by then the client should try to recall or find out if the dog had eaten anything unusual, especially since they had just moved into the neighborhood. Seungmin and Jisung escorted him back to the hospital’s front lobby after that.

“Bye, Kkami! Be a good boy, I’ll see you on Thursday!” Jisung greeted cheerily, giving the dog a pat on the head just right before the client managed to make Kkami enter his carrier. Behind him, Seungmin remained quiet and maintained a tight smile. He was trying to find a lull in the conversation to squeeze an apology in for snapping earlier.

“He will be,” the client replied, smiling now and seemingly a lot less worried than earlier. “Thanks for today, again.”

“Yeah, no worries,” said Jisung. “Take care on your way home!” Seungmin opened his mouth to speak up, but Minho came up from behind all of a sudden and handed him a new file, along with a pair of bulgogi sandwiches and two cans of peach-flavored juice - Jisung’s current favorite drink. (Seungmin, truthfully, didn’t like it much, but it was better than nothing.) When Seungmin turned back to resume giving his apology, their client had gone.

\---

A couple of cases later, Woojin gave Jisung and Seungmin the go signal to take a break. The influx of patients had stopped, and by then there were only two or three more clients waiting to be accommodated. They dragged their feet to the cafeteria and wolfed down their meals without speaking a word. Once they were done, Jisung sank back into his seat and threw his head back.

“I’m still so hungry but I’m too tired to move,” he groaned. “Haven’t they invented food that walks to you yet?”

Seungmin let out a grunt in response while he wiped the table clean with a bunch of napkins. “It’s called _delivery_ .” He then folded his arms across the table and rested his head on top of them. “And we’re inside the cafeteria, Jisung, you can get food _here._ ”

Jisung straightened up in his seat. “Uh, no? You’ll still have to walk to the front lobby to fetch the food from the delivery guy. Also, I want the bulgogi sandwiches Minho-hyung got us earlier.” He then went on to expound on that, detailing how exhausting it would be to walk ten meters from the cafeteria to the front lobby in their current state and how an invention such as walking food should have been invented already before smartphones. It didn’t seem to bother Jisung that Seungmin responded no further and kept his head down. After he made that point, Jisung went on to tell him about his dog Mideumi, and if he should give it probiotic drinks over the next few days because the dog’s stool didn’t seem normal. Ordinarily, Seungmin would indulge him in conversations like this. However, he found his mind wandering back to their client from earlier in the day, the one he had snapped at for asking too many questions.

He chalked it up to having been unable to apologize, though truthfully, Seungmin wasn’t one to mull over he had already said and done and could no longer take back. He wasn’t even worried about whether he’ll receive negative feedback and get reprimanded or have a few points taken off of his evaluation - he generally did well as a intern, often praised by the professors for his detailed reports and his insight on diagnosis. He was sure he wasn’t going to flunk for this incident. At the same time, he couldn’t imagine Hwang Hyunjin going to one of the teaching hospital’s social media accounts to leave a negative review over being snapped at by him. The guy seemed to _nice_ for that. As much as he tried to pay attention to what Jisung was saying, though, he couldn’t. He could hear Jisung’s voice but Seungmin’s mind couldn’t seem to string his Jisung’s words together into proper sentences. Suddenly, he stood from his seat and started cleaning up.

“So Mideumi’s always- wait, what, where are you going?”

Seungmin turned his back towards Jisung and headed to the cafeteria’s doorway. “Convenience store. I’ll go get us those bulgogi sandwiches.” He was sure he heard Jisung protest to that, or perhaps offer to join him, Seungmin wasn’t entirely sure, but he made his way out before Jisung could even stand up from his seat. Perhaps, a bit of peace and quiet would help Seungmin clear his mind and get through the rest of the day.

\--

The bulgogi sandwiches were stacked neatly inside the chiller by the door. Seungmin felt a little disappointed that he found them so quickly; he had less of an excuse to linger inside the quiet convenience store at far the end of the street the teaching hospital was located at. He let out a sigh, then turned to where the beverage chiller would be. He might as well get himself a can of coffee. There were still a couple of hours left in their shift, and then they’d need to review for an exam tomorrow after that.

Instead of the wide array of canned coffee being offered, a tall male figure standing by the beverage chiller caught his attention. It took no more than a second for Seungmin to remember where he saw the bucket hat the male was wearing on top of his head.

Seungmin debated with himself whether to make an approach. Perhaps, this was his chance to apologize, it would be awkward if he waited for them to return to the teaching hospital in three days. But then, he also thought it was already too late by now, and in the end it wasn’t going to ruin his future by leaving things be. Abandoning the plan to get coffee, he quietly made his way to the counter, hoping to go unnoticed. He wondered why Hwang Hyunjin would be in this convenience store instead of the million other ones in Seoul, then he remembered that Hyunjin volunteered information about him recently having moved into the same neighborhood. _Oh well_. He just had to make sure to leave before he got noticed.

“Ah, Seung… Seungmin-ssi? Right?”

Too late. Seungmin’s back was already turned towards where Hyunjin was standing earlier, but from the volume of his voice, he could tell that the other had already approached him.

“Uh, hello...” Seungmin, cradling the bulgogi sandwiches in his arms and unsure still of how to behave towards clients when meeting them by accident outside the teaching hospital, dipped his head in a barely perceptible bow. Hyunjin seemed to have caught it, though, as he returned the bow himself. Seungmin spoke no further, and laid his sandwiches on top of the counter for the convenience store employee.

“Finally having lunch now?” Hyunjin asked from behind him. Seungmin remembered Jisung using his being hungry as an excuse for snapping earlier and groaned inwardly. Hyunjin’s tone sounded nothing close to upset, at least so that was a bit of a relief.

“Ah, second lunch now, actually.” Seungmin forced out a nervous laugh. He thought of apologizing again, maybe now was a good time to just get it over and done with. At the very least, he’s doing it for his own sanity’s sake. He took a deep breath and turned around.

“I’m sorry about earlier--”

“I’m sorry about earlier--” Hyunjin happened to also say at the same time. Seungmin’s mouth hung open in surprise to find out Hyunjin just almost beat him in apologizing _again_. Hyunjin, on the other hand, though, just laughed out loud, a bit louder than what Seungmin thought the coincidence warranted.

“You go ahead,” Hyunjin even extended a hand to go with his offer. There was an amused grin on his face, and a trace of laughter still in his voice.

“No, you-” Seungmin rolled his eyes, though, it’s more at himself for getting flustered enough to indulge in a pointless no-you-first argument. “I mean, okay. Fine. I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier. That was very unprofessional of me. Please know that that’s now how we usually behave there at the teaching hospital and it won’t happen again.” He held his breath after that, until Hyunjin gave him a nod in acknowledgement, still smiling.

“Your turn.” Seungmin hastily handed his T-money card to the convenience store to pay for the bulgogi sandwiches, while waiting for Hyunjin to speak up.

“Okay, I’m sorry I kept asking questions earlier and dragging the whole thing out. I didn’t realize you guys hadn’t eaten yet and I think it was really selfish of me to assume I can take so much of your time.”

Seungmin frowned; he wasn’t going to accept Hyunjin’s apology because it wasn’t necessary at all. “You were worried about your dog, and it’s only natural you’d ask a lot of questions.”

“But some of them were dumb. Like, the tap water…”

“For Kkami’s sake, ask what you need to ask, no matter how pissed we look, because it’s our job to let you know how to best care for him. If something happened to Kkami - of course, I hope that won’t be the case - because you did or didn’t do something you hesitated to ask us about, then you’ll regret it for sure, and it will be on _you_.” Seungmin’s voice had turned stern, but he hoped he didn’t sound like he was annoyed again.

Hyunjin only stared at him for what felt like a couple of hours after that. Seungmin picked up the sandwiches from the counter to ward off the self-consciousness the stare made him feel.

Much to his relief, though, Hyunjin finally nodded, with a wide smile forming on his lips. Seungmin noticed the smile reach his eyes as well. “You know what, you’re entirely correct. Thank you.”

Seungmin found himself unable to do anything other than give a small smile right back. “There’s no need to thank me-”

“Well, I feel much better now and there’s only you to thank for that,” Hyunjin pointed out as he laid his purchases on top of the counter as well.

“Ah-” Seungmin opened his mouth to protest to that, but just as soon as he decided it could probably be pointless, his phone buzzed loudly in the pocket of his jacket. He took his phone out and saw a frantic message from Jisung about Woojin ready to cut Seungmin in half if he isn’t at the triage desk within the next five minutes.

“Well, I gotta run. Sor- I mean, we’ll see you and Kkami on Thursday.”

“Yeah, sure! We’ll see you!” Hyunjin sent him off with his smile from earlier still there, even made a small wave with his hand. Seungmin frowned a little, not at Hyunjin waving his hand at him, but at how Hyunjin’s laugh still rang in his ears.

\----

Their shift ended at five in the afternoon. After cleaning up the last examination room that had been used that day, Seungmin, Jisung, Minho and Woojin all met up at the front lobby, and began their walk to the nearby Lotteria, a couple of blocks away. The day was far from over for all of them. Seungmin and Jisung still need to review for an exam the next morning, while Minho and Woojin, already on their last semester, had only a couple of days left until their first thesis defense. The four of them had agreed to study together that night, and have dinner on the way to the library as well.

“I’m so tired already,” Jisung whined while they made their way to a nearby Lotteria branch. “Today was terrible.”

Woojin laughed out loud and gave Jisung a pat on the back. “There will be worse shifts, Jisung. You better be ready.”

Seungmin, walking quietly beside them, let out a groan. Minho, meanwhile, laughed and slung an arm across Jisung’s shoulders, when suddenly, Jisung’s face lit up.

“Oh, by the way, the tall, good-looking guy who came earlier, I think I’ve seen him before. He’s a celebrity right?” Jisung asked, looking at all three of them to confirm what he just thought.

Seungmin frowned at Jisung. At first, he thought he knew who Jisung meant, but he was pretty sure they did not have any celebrities that day. Their teaching hospital in particular had low fees, celebrities would more likely avoid their facility.

“Celebrities go to Seungmin’s dad’s clinic, not ours,” Woojin replied, looking utterly confused. And though Seungmin scoffed at Woojin’s remark, he really couldn’t disagree.

Minho, on the other hand, nudged Jisung’s side with his elbow. “Is he more good-looking than you?”

“Of course not!” Seungmin could swear Jisung’s voice rang down the entire street. “But maybe he comes close. _Maybe._ ”

Seungmin playfully rolled his eyes. This kind of talk wasn’t unusual from Jisung, but Seungmin couldn’t resist contradicting him all the time. “Han Jisung, please, can you not-”

Jisung didn’t seem to have heard him, though. Instead, he only tugged at the sleeve of Seungmin’s jacket. “You were staring at him earlier. You recognized him, too right? The guy who owned the black Japanese chin with a digestive tract infection? What’s his name again? Hwang.. something…? Maybe you’ve seen him at your dad’s clinic before?”

Minho looked amused and surprised by this, and began to nudge Seungmin’s side before he could even reply to Jisungs barrage of questions. “Now this I got to hear about. Our Seungminnie staring at a good-looking guy,” he said teasingly.

Seungmin could feel his face redden. He didn’t realize he had been staring until Jisung pointed it out. Jisung could often be very perceptive of the small things happening around him, except when those small things concerned himself, like how he was the only intern to be given a bottle of his favorite drink during today’s extraordinarily busy shift.

“I don’t know what you mean,” was all Seungmin replied through gritted teeth in his annoyance. Jisung could have talked to him about this earlier, without the other two hearing about it, or could not have pointed it out at all. He quickened his pace and walked a few steps ahead of them. His friends remained within his earshot, though. He could easily hear the three of them laughing.

“You know what annoys Seungmin the most?” Seungmin heard Woojin ask Minho when the laughter died down.

“Everything?” Minho replied, laughing some more.

Woojin shook his head. “Nope, when Jisung is right.”

\-----

Seungmin’s next shift at the teaching hospital came after three uneventful days. (He and Jisung took their exam, but that didn’t really feel like much of a happening for Seungmin.)  Unlike the previous shift he had, this one turned out to be pretty slow. After a proper one-hour lunch break, he and Jisung found the front lobby almost empty. The teaching hospital was so quiet that it was almost unnerving.

“We’ll call you guys later when you’re needed here,” Woojin told them in a hushed voice. They usually talked loudly at the triage desk because being heard amidst all the barking and meowing that rang across the front lobby could be a struggle. It seemed even Woojin wasn’t used to this kind of quiet. “Go study in the cafeteria or something.”

Seungmin and Jisung did as Woojin told them to. The latter seemed extremely enthusiastic about it and was walking a few steps ahead of Seungmin on their way back to the cafeteria.

“What a relief, I fell asleep too early last night,” Jisung looked quite thrilled as they found a table in the corner of the cafeteria.

Seungmin snorted. “And you’ll sleep some more this afternoon.” He filed into the seat across Jisung’s and began to rummage through his backpack.

“If I fall asleep within an hour of sitting here, I’ll treat you to a meal,” Jisung replied defiantly as he took his textbooks out. “And if I don’t, you’re the one who’s treating me.”

“I can choose which restaurant?” Seungmin asked, raising an eyebrow..

“Of course, we can go to a buffet restaurant, even.”

Seungmin gave him a genuinely cheerful smile. “Deal. I’ll look for a good restaurant tonight, then.”

With both their textbooks and laptops laid out on the table, Seungmin started to quietly review his notes. He didn’t show it as much as Jisung did, but he was thrilled about the unexpected free time as well, and though it was tempting to spend it fooling around, he knew he’d regret doing that later on.

Jisung, on the other hand, seemed to have fallen asleep as soon as they stopped talking. Seungmin took a photo of him napping with the clock on the wall visible in the background and sent it to Jisung, Minho and Woojin.  After snickering to himself, Seungmin quietly studied, barely noticing time go by.

“Seungminnie? I have a case for you.”

It was probably after a couple of hours since they came back to the cafeteria when he heard Minho’s voice from the doorway. Seungmin was surprised Minho called his name out in particular, not Jisung’s, but he reached across the table anyway and shook Jisung awake. His shift partner groaned in resistance, but when Jisung opened his eyes and saw Minho coming closer, he slowly straightened up in his seat.

The mischievous grin on Minho’s face as he handed him the file didn’t give Seungmin a good feeling.

“Lemme guess, a _new_ patient?” Jisung asked while he rubbed his eyes and stretched. He then stood up and leaned across the table to take a look at the file as well.

“Actually, no, not this time around. I feel like being _extra_ nice today,” Minho replied, chuckling as he gave Seungmin a pat on the shoulder. “Have fun, and don’t be too grumpy this time around, okay?”

Seungmin rolled his eyes, then turned his gaze towards the file. In an instant, he understood  why Minho, for the first time, was looking for him and not Jisung, and what he meant by feeling extra _nice_  that day. Beside him, Jisung couldn’t seem to contain his excitement at the identity of their upcoming client.

“Ah, it’s the celebrity guy again!” Jisung exclaimed, almost seemingly ready to jump up and down. “I'm gonna ask him what TV show he's been on!”

“Hyung, I can't believe you're doing this,” Seungmin grumbled and gave his senior a glare.

“Doing what, Seungmin?” Minho had put on a look of feigned shock. “Giving a case to the same pair of people who handled it previously?”

Jisung let out a loud snort then laughed out loud. Seungmin, with his face as as warm as the bowl of ramyeon the intern on the other table was gorging on, grabbed the file and walked out of the cafeteria, leaving his two friends sniggering together.

\---

  


Jisung easily spotted Hyunjin in the empty lobby and went over to them. Seungmin walked in step with him, though he pretended to be busy examining the file which he himself filled out just three days ago, almost as if he had never seen it before.

“Hello!” Jisung greeted cheerfully and jogged up to Hyunjin, who had walked up to meet them as well. “Kkami, how are you?!” Seungmin finally looked up from the file and gave Hyunjin a small nod, which he returned enthusiastically with a grin that seemed like he was thrilled to be there.

“He’s been doing great!” Hyunjin then turned to Jisung answered on behalf of his dog. He was smiling widely, without the slightest hint of worry. Kkami’s condition must have greatly improved over the last three days. “His appetite’s back to normal, plus, I found out Kkami did eat something strange.” The smile on Hyunjin’s face suddenly disappeared, and he instead threw a glare over his shoulder.

To Seungmin's surprise, standing behind Hyuniin was a small male, with a long face and a seemingly permanent exasperated look. He wore baggy clothes just like Hyunjin, and even had a black bucket hat on top of his head. He stepped out from behind Hyunjin and acknowledged the two interns with a grunt and a small nod. Seungmin noticed Jisung take a step back, while he resisted the urge to do the same. Despite the small stature, Hyunjin's companion had a very intimidating air about him.

“So, uh, let's go to the examination room!” Jisung laughed nervously and turned around to lead the way. The rest of them followed quietly. Once inside the room, Seungmin took out two chairs and offered them to Hyunjin and his companion, while Jisung took Kkami from Hyunjin to take the dog's vitals, and check for any changes from the last visit. The dog seemed to have taken well to Jisung already. The dog wagged its tail excitedly and wouldn't stop sniffing at him.

“Kkami-yah! It hasn't been that long!” Jisung laughed. Hyunjin watched them from his seat, laughing as well.

Seungmin caught himself staring yet again, and hastily turned his eyes towards a different direction. His gaze was met by that of Hyunjin's _tiny_ companion. He looked even smaller sitting beside Hyunjin  inside the room.

He instead turned his gaze to the file. Since this was a follow-up visit and Kkami seemed to be doing better, there was no need to ask a lot of questions. Seungmin found some consolation in the thought that at this would be a short interview, at least.

“Hello, what changes did you notice about Kkami since we started treatment?” he asked Hyunjin. As much as he wanted to avoid looking at Hyunjin directly, Seungmin found it harder to look at the person he brought along with him.

“He's been great! Just a day after taking the medicines, he's back to his usual energetic self!” Hyunjin answered happily. “He still seems a little hard to feed, though? I mean, it's improved a bit and his… stool, it’s still kinda… On your card from the last time, it’s probably a 4 or 5?”

Seungmin nodded and wrote that down with a genuine look of concern on his face. The dog should have been getting better by now, even in that regard.

The lack of a verbal reply from Seungmin seemed to have prompted Hyunjin to give more details. “It was kinda like rice porridge--”

“Yah!” his companion suddenly spoke up. “I ate rice porridge earlier, can you not, please?” From the examination table, Jisung let out a snort. Seungmin looked up from his file, more surprised that the tiny companion could actually talk rather than at the outburst itself.

Hyunjin, on the other hand, laughed out loud; it was the same laugh from when Seungmin met him by chance at the convenience store. “Changbin-hyung, this is all your fault so please stop complaining.”

“What ha-”

“It’s not my fault! Kkami was begging while I was eating so I gave him some of my food!” the guy apparently called Changbin protested. “How could I have resisted that cute face of his?” He turned to where Jisung and the dog were. “Kkami-yah, I’m sorry, you know Changbinnie-binnie-hyung loves you, right?” The dog barked at Changbin in response, which sent Jisung howling with laughter.

“Hyung, didn’t I tell you when I moved in that you can’t give Kkami anything but dog food, no matter how much he begs?” Hyunjin still looked generally amused; Seungmin even thought he saw a fond look flash across his face. Somehow, that annoyed him, though he was already annoyed enough by Changbin’s grating tone and the fact that they seemed to be starting to bicker in front of him and Jisung.

“Wait, what food did you give him?” Seungmin managed to interrupt anyone who could have intended to speak. Underneath the desk, his left hand was balled into a fist to contain his annoyance.

“It was just vegetables, I was having a salad!”

“And what was the expiry date indicated on the packaging…?” Hyunjin asked slowly, as if he was gently prying the answer out of an agitated child.

This only seemed to upset Changbin more. “Aish- I didn’t see the expiry date, have you seen how small the font they used was? Also, I got diarrhea afterwards too, okay? I couldn’t even leave the house the next day or I’d have shat in my-”

“OKAY, THANK YOU FOR THAT.” Seungmin often spoke softly, but raising his voice and talking over Changbin detailing his own encounter with diarrhea was the only way he could think of to make him shut up. At the back of his mind, Seungmin remembered Minho tell him not to be too grumpy, but he was pretty sure that if Minho had to deal with this _creature_ Hyunjin brought with him, he would understand.

Everyone in the room turned quiet, even Jisung, who kept to the corner of the examination room with his shoulders shaking, probably from trying to hold his laughter in.

Seungmin stood up from his seat and picked up the file from the desk. He still had a couple of questions he needed to ask, and his professor will probably reprimand him for not being as thorough with the interview as he usually would be, but he didn’t care anymore.

“I will call Doctor Jang in now. Please wait here.” Without looking at anyone else in the room, he made his way out of the examination room, with Jisung scampering after him.

  


\----

“Like, he could have just told us, ‘Oh my roommate fed Kkami expired salad, but noo, he had to bring that... that overgrown infant rat in with him to throw a tantrum- _oh my god_ , if you guys were in there, you wouldn’t have been able to kept your cool, either, I swear.” After his tirade, Jisung meekly poured soju into Seungmin’s shot glass, which he consumed right away.

“I’ve never seen him like this--” Woojin only stared from across the table, blinking. He had his own filled up shot glass in his hand but he couldn’t stop watching Seungmin to take it. “Should we be scared?”

Beside Woojin, Minho laughed then turned to Jisung. “I’m curious about this-” Minho paused to draw quotation marks in the air - “overgrown infant rat. Seungminnie’s insults are as descriptive as his shift reports, I’m amazed. Was he as annoying as you?”

“Yah, hyung!” Jisung was laughing despite his small protest. “He wasn’t that bad, just kinda defensive, I guess. I think he felt really bad about making the dog sick. He was actually kinda funny. If you’d been there you’d have found the whole thing entertaining-”

“IT WAS NOT-”

Woojin went over to Seungmin’s side to coax the younger one to stand up from his seat. “Seungminnie, you’re drunk- How about-”

“I AM NOT.”

Minho shook his head at Woojin and motioned for his friend to return to his seat. “I don’t think he’s drunk. Based on statistics, there’s only a 0.2% chance of a veterinary medicine student getting drunk before Han Jisung.” Jisung opened his mouth to protest to this as well, but Seungmin cut him off.

“Thank you,” He turned to Minho with a tight smile. His senior was right, Seungmin was still far from drunk, and he always knew when he’s nearing his limit. He did realize, though, that he was already tipsy too early into their drinking session, and clasped his palm over his shot glass. Woojin looked warily at Minho, then to Seungmin, before returning to his seat.

“The only bad thing that happened was that I wasn’t able to ask the celebrity dude what TV show he was on,” Jisung resumed their discussion about what had happened. “Seungminnie stormed off before I could do that.”

“You know, you can search for his name on Naver,” Woojin remarked. Seungmin only rolled his eyes; he couldn’t believe they’re actually doing this.

“Oh, right!” Jisung’s face lit up as if Woojin had told him how he can have the walking food he’d been looking for just a few days ago. He whipped out his phone, and began to type excitedly. Minho, however, covered Jisung’s phone screen with his hand.

“Hyung!”

Minho laughed and pulled his hand away, then turned to Seungmin, for once looking quite serious. “Your temper’s really something these days, though. I mean, we all know you have the sense of humor of a dead chicken, but you’ve been going off a lot.”

Woojin nudged Minho with his elbow. “Don’t disrespect dead chickens. They’re delicious.” Despite what he said, though, he turned to Seungmin as well, looking genuinely worried. “But yeah, everything okay, Seungmin?”

Seungmin only stared blankly at his two seniors - no, friends - for a second. He appreciated their concern, but he didn’t think there was anything unusual going on in his life. He figured he’d just have to learn to hold his temper better from the two incidents during the past week, which had been trying. His stress levels over school were at an all-time high, and on top of that, the shifts at the teaching hospital had been extremely hectic. “Yeah, everything’s fine,” was all he answered. “Thanks for asking, tho-”

Without looking up from his phone screen, Jisung spoke up all of a sudden in a nonchalant, distracted manner. “I think Seungminnie was just jealous earlier. Hwang Hyunjin really looked close with that friend of his. They even moved in together recently-”

Seungmin felt a vein pop in his head. At the back of his mind, he remembered something that Woojin said the other day about Jisung being right, but he was angrier than anything else and all he could think about was that he’d be free to strangle Jisung right then and there without worrying about being violent in front of a client. “Han Jisung you little-”

“Okay, what do you guys think of talking about why we’re drinking on a _Thursday_ night?” Woojin interrupted Seungmin, raising his voice above the noise inside the restaurant. He gave Minho a pointed look, who, on the other hand, was already tugging at the sleeve of Jisung’s sweater, seemingly to get him to expound on what he just said.

MInho pulled his hand away from Jisung and put on a proud smile. “Ah, yes, you two haven’t even congratulated us yet for getting through our first thesis defense!”

“Ah, congratulations, you two!!” Jisung finally looked up from his phone’s screen, with his face all lit up. “How did it go?”

“Thank you for remembering why Minho and I are paying for drinks tonight,” Woojin replied dryly.

Seungmin felt a little bad at how he’d been whining the entire time and completely forgot about the milestone his friends just went through. But then his genuine happiness for his friends’ achievement was quick to overcome his guilt. Soon enough, he was smiling, and echoed Jisung. “Yeah, congrats, how did it go?”

Woojin blinked. “I think we barely made it,” then let out a nervous chuckle.

“The USB drive we put our slides in broke down,” Minho continued, laughing out loud, while he idly slung an arm around Jisung’s shoulders. The latter didn’t seem to mind, and inched closer to the table. “That isn’t really a big deal because we also have a copy online, but we were both freaking out earlier.”

“I forgot my part, too, as in my mind went completely blank! Minho had to fill the dead air with gibberish until I could continue.”

All four of them laughed and continued talking about the two upper-classmen’s apparently harrowing experience. Both Jisung and Seungmin were completely engrossed. Not only did the whole happening turn out to be entertaining, they were well aware they’d also be going through in a year or so, and they wanted to take every detail in so they wouldn’t eventually mess up their own thesis defense.

“Yah, when we do this we better not use USB drives,” Jisung told Seungmin when Minho and Woojin seemed to have finished talking about what happened.

“What makes you think I’m pairing up with you?” Seungmin asked, raising an eyebrow, then reached across the table to pour Jisung a drink before the latter could even react. “Hey, I’m kidding!”

Woojin laughed and poured a drink for everyone else on the table as well. “Jisung’s your best choice in a thesis partner, Seungmin. He’ll be the only one transparent about piggybacking on your work.”

“Yah! Woojin-hyung!” Jisung protested. He had been about to down the drink Seungmin poured for him but he couldn’t take Woojin’s remark standing down.

Minho ruffled Jisung’s hair and turned to Seungmin. “Work him like a slave, Seungminnie. Make sure he doesn’t sleep.”

Seungmin gave Minho what appeared to be a solemn nod, as if he was responding to a professor giving him instructions on a case. “Noted. Cheers to that.” He raised his filled shot glass, laughing.

“Yah! Why are you all back to ganging up on me?!” Jisung cried out, despite raising his own shot glass as well and positioning it next to Seungmin’s. The other two followed, and all four of them clinked their glasses together and took their drinks. Seungmin turned aside and winced at the taste, he’d probably never completely enjoy the taste of soju, but all in all, he felt good, probably the best he’d felt during the past couple of weeks. All four of them turned quiet for a while, just enjoying the increasingly warm buzz inside their heads. The statistics Minho mentioned earlier seemed to be holding up: Jisung’s cheeks had turned a full shade of red.

Seungmin was the first to speak up. “You’ll have one final defense after this, right?”

Woojin cupped his cheeks with his palms at the reminder. “Don’t talk about it! It’s still a month away!”

Jisung opened his mouth to join them, but his face suddenly lit up, with his gaze turned towards the doorway. “Hold on, isn’t that the celebrity?!”

Minho followed Jisung’s gaze and let out a quiet, “Oh.” Seungmin, thinking it was an actual celebrity, turned to around to look in the doorway’s direction again. Much to his surprise, he was greeted by the sight of Hwang Hyunjin pulling out a chair from a nearby table. Across him was Changbin - the _overgrown infant rat_ \- already looking at the menu stuck on the tabletop.

Seungmin opened his mouth to suggest that maybe they should move to another restaurant; it’s best to not have clients see them interns going around drunk, but Jisung was already waving his hand and trying to grab Hyunjin’s attention.

Only Woojin had the sense to pull down Jisung’s hand, but it was too late. Hwang Hyunjin’s face had lit up, and Seungmin saw him waving back. He quickly turned around and hoped that was the last of it, but before he knew it, he could already hear Hyunjin’s voice greeting them. Seungmin kept his gaze on his empty shot glass, but he could hear Hyunjin’s cheerful tone.

“Oh, you guys drink here, too?” he asked all four of them. “Then this place must be good! We just recently moved so we weren’t sure where to go, and this place looked pretty busy so Changbin-hyung and I thought it’d be worth giving a shot.”

“Yeah, this place is the best!” Jisung answered enthusiastically. Woojin only nodded, his smile polite and careful. Minho, on the other hand, was staring at Changbin.

“Wow, you are like an overgrown infant rat,” Minho said, his big eyes opened wide and looked utterly fascinated. it didn’t seem like he meant to say it in Changbin’s face, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself with the accuracy of the description.

Seungmin felt his cheeks turn warm. He looked at Minho pointedly, but before his senior could even catch it, he saw Changbin already squinting at Minho.

The _overgrown infant rat_ let out a grunt. “What did you just call me?”

Minho _sharply_ and so _conspicuously_ turned his gaze towards Seungmin, who was looking at his shot glass like it was an expensive piece of jewelry he suddenly happened to pick up off the sidewalk. Everyone went quiet and waited for him to speak.

“What-” Seungmin raised his head, glared at Minho and Jisung, then gave Woojin a look imploring him to do something.

Hyunjin turned out to be the one to break the silence, though. “Actually, we’re here to apologize for what happened earlier,” he spoke up, grinning sheepishly. “I wanted Changbin-hyung to be made aware of how to take care of Kkami so I brought him along, but I guess shouldn’t have.”

Seungmin opened his mouth to tell Hyunjin an apology wasn’t necessary and hasten this awkward conversation but Jisung waved a hand in front of him, laughing. “Oh, no, no, it’s fine! It’s cool! It was fun! Changbin-ssi, please tag along on Kkami’s next visit again, okay?”

Hyunjin looked at Jisung for a good second, blinking, then let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, I guess, it was.” His eyes then darted towards Seungmin, as if he was waiting for him to speak. Woojin tugged at Seungmin’s hand and gave him a pointed look.

“Ah- ah. I… uh, it’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” He waved a hand dismissively in front of him and turned his gaze back towards his shot glass.

“Yeah, he was the one who came up with _overgrown infant rat_ , so you guys are pretty much even!” Jisung exclaimed.

Changbin let out another grunt, this time a few keys higher than the previous one. ( _Does this creature communicate through grunts?_ Seungmin had to ask himself.) His face was all lit up now as well. “Oh, wow, that’s the most creative thing I’ve ever been called, actually. I feel flattered. Thank you.”

Everyone but Seungmin laughed out loud; he wanted to disappear then and there, or maybe come up with an excuse that there’s a report he still needed to write up. “Actually--”

“You guys know what’s good to order here?” Changbin asked all four of them. “We’re having over a couple of people with us later, and it’s pretty important they have a great time.”

“The fried chicken, of course!” Woojin suggested enthusiastically. Seungmin couldn’t believe the only reliable one was now eagerly participating in this travesty of an encounter. “All the yangnyeom varieties are really good; they’re the best in this part of Seoul.”

“Won’t it be too spicy for foreigners?” Hyunjin asked, looking as worried as he was when he first brought Kkami to the teaching hospital.

Woojin shook his head and held a thumbs up sign at Hyunjin.

“Trust him, he specializes in poultry health and production,” Minho chimed in. Jisung raised both his thumbs up as well.

The two exchanged looks before turning towards them again. “Thanks for the recommendation and the time, then. We’ll order the chicken,” Hyunjin grinned at all four of them at the table.

“If this meeting goes sour, it’s on you guys!” Changbin said, looking over his shoulder. “Just kidding, we’re buying you guys a round of drinks if this meeting ends nicely. Wish us luck.” With that, the two of them returned to their table.

As soon as they were outside earshot, Seungmin picked up the strap of his backpack. “Guys, I think we should move to another restaurant.”

“The rat said they could be buying us a round of drinks,” Minho said, leaning back into his seat, which told Seungmin he wasn’t not going anywhere. “That’s one round off our wallets.”

“And I wanna see if the foreigners like the fried chicken. For science.” Woojin raised his head to get a better view of Hyunjin and Changbin’s table.

“Then I have to go home and write our shift report,” Seungmin frowned.

Jisung gave Seungmin a proud grin. “I wrote and submitted it already, Seungminnie! Don’t worry!”

“You what--?”

“You looked so pissed earlier, I thought it’d help if I’d be the one to do it, I mean, I should have been splitting work on it with you since the start anyway. Minho-hyung checked it so it’s all fine.” Minho gave Jisung a brief look that registered to Seungmin as both _fond_ and _proud_ and ruffled his hair again.

“Let Jisung do some of the boring work, too, Seungminnie,” Woojin told him, then poured each one of them a another shot. “Have some fun, it won’t kill you.”

\----

A few minutes later, they saw a pair of guys walk into the restaurant and headed straight to Hyunjin and Changbin’s table. They didn’t exactly look like foreigners, though the way they dressed and carried themselves did give that impression. One had his hair dyed orange, and the other one blonde. Hyunjin and Changbin rose from their seats and shook the two guys’ hands, then all four of them sat down to discuss. They could hear the two foreigners’ voices, but they couldn’t make sense of what they were saying amidst the background noise of the restaurant. They weren’t the only patrons in there after all.

In the meantime, they drank a bit more. Seungmin remained quiet, still hoping this would just end soon, but the other three talked animatedly about school, and future plans. It wasn’t long until he forgot about the other table, and participated in the conversation as well.

“You’re really going back to the countryside after graduation, hyung?” Jisung asked Woojin. His voice had become slurred, and his eyes were only half-open. Seungmin felt like he’d be passing out anytime soon.

“Yeah. I told you, I studied veterinary medicine to work with poultry!” Woojin said, laying down his empty shot glass on the table for added effect.

“You’ve always said that but I never really figured out how serious you are about it,” Seungmin remarked, chuckling softly. He had a great deal of respect for Woojin, and was glad to have him as a friend, but he really didn’t buy Woojin’s story that he studied veterinary medicine because of fried chicken.

“Dead serious!” Minho answered on Woojin’s behalf with so much conviction Seungmin grew more convinced that Woojin was in fact, not serious. Minho then threw Jisung a glance that spoke of faint concern about the younger one’s current state.

“I am going to make sure our country’s future generations get to eat good, healthy chicken forever!” Woojin said proudly. “A toast for my noble cause?” Woojin was quick to raise his glass in the air, but Minho reached for Woojin’s arm instead and pointed to Jisung, whose head was now lying against the table. He had indeed passed out, though sooner than Seungmin had expected. Jisung was probably more exhausted than he looked.

“I think we’ll have to toast to your noble cause next time, sorry.” The apologetic smile Minho gave Woojin seemed genuine.

Woojin checked the time on his phone. “Well, it is kinda late. Shift starts at 8am tomorrow for us, too.”

“Yeah, I’ll drop off Jisung at his place then I’m going home,” Minho replied, seemingly to reassure Woojin that he’ll make it to the teaching hospital tomorrow at 8am. Seungmin let out a sigh of relief. He had been anxious to go home for a while now, and he, too, was starting to feel the need to rest.

Woojin threw a glance over at Hyunjin and Changbin’s table, where a discussion still seemed to be ongoing, then let out a sigh. The two foreigners were smiling, so at least it seemed to be going well. “Doesn’t look like they hated the fried chicken, so I’m good.” Seungmin stole a glance as well, and caught the sight of Hyunjin laughing heartily.

The next thing Seungmin knew, Woojin was tapping on his shoulder from behind. “Seungmin, I thought you wanted to go already?”

Across the table, Minho was trying to prop Jisung up from his seat.. The younger one only groaned in futile resistance. “I love you… I love you guys…”

Seungmin blinked at Woojin and chuckled nervously. “Yeah, let’s go.”

\----

Seungmin and Woojin didn’t usually take the same bus home, but for tonight, Woojin offered to take a detour so he could drop Seungmin off at his stop. Seungmin tried to decline the offer, but Woojin insisted, quite unable to believe that Seungmin can still take care of himself after everything they drank.

“Aren’t _you_ drunk, hyung?” Seungmin tossed Woojin’s concern right back at him.

“A little, but I’m worried if I leave you alone you’ll be strangling the next random person that annoys you,” Woojin answered nonchalantly.

“I told you, everything’s fine.” Earlier, he had appreciated the concern, but this was starting to get annoying. He was all right, more or less, as all right as a stressed out university student could be. The short temper he’s always had for as long as he could remember was just showing itself, and he could only promise himself to slowly work on it for now. He let out a sigh, then pulled his coat more tightly around himself. “It’s fine, hyung. Doesn’t your shift start early tomorrow?”

Woojin gave him a worried stare, then turned his gaze towards the approaching bus. He seemed to weigh his options again for a second, but when the bus pulled over, Woojin gave Seungmin a hasty wave.

“Let me know when you get home!!” Woojin called out before hopping onto the bus.

“Yeah, you too and thanks for tonight, hyung!” He wasn’t sure if Woojin heard him, and Seungmin figured he’d just send his friend a text when he gets home.

When Woojin left, Seungmin took his phone out to check the bus schedule. It didn’t seem like it was coming within the next ten minutes so he took a seat on the benches within the bus stop. All he could think of now was his bed, though every now and then his gaze turned to the direction of where the restaurant was.

It wasn’t long until he saw a figure jogging towards the bus stop from that direction. Seungmin didn’t give it much attention. It could be anyone who’s trying to catch the last bus for their route. He just looked at his phone again and checked the time: barely five minutes had passed since Woojin left.

“Seungmin-ssi…? I thought you’d all gone.”

The voice and the faint lisp were instantly recognizable. Seungmin looked up from his phone to find Hyunjin catching his breath, yet still with a smile in his eyes.

“Hyunjin-ssi…?” He looked up with his mouth slightly hanging open in surprise. “May I help you?”

Hyunjin first answered him with a soft laugh and a shake of his head. “Just gonna say Changbin-hyung was serious about buying you guys a round of drinks if the talk goes well.” He paused to catch his breath some more.

Seungmin only watched him, wondering if he really ran all the way from the restaurant just to say that. “Okay…?”

“And it did go well! But when we looked for you guys, you had gone.” Hyunjin's face fell briefly. He seemed genuinely disappointed they didn't wait. Seungmin found himself feeling a little dismayed as well, then quickly brushed that feeling off.

“It was getting pretty late, and we start early tomorrow,” he replied, only to berate himself mentally that he didn't owe Hyunjin an explanation. He didn't even have to feel _anything_ about this.

“Aw, so that's why!” Hyunjin wrinkled his nose. “How about we go some other night, then? Saturday night, same restaurant?”

Seungmin chuckled and shook his head. “Congratulations on whatever that was, but you don't have to buy us drinks, come on.”

“Yes, we do! It'll be bad karma for us if we don't do what we say we'd do!” Hyunjin insisted, seemingly quite serious about this.

Seungmin found himself smiling. For some reason, he could imagine Hyunjin to be a person who took his karma seriously, given how nice of a person he seemed to be. “I'm sure there'll be other ways for you to build up good karma,” was all he said, however.

Hyunjin laughed, which made Seungmin wonder if what he said was even remotely funny. He saw Hyunjin close his eyes briefly, as if in deep thought. When he opened them again, he looked at Seungmin with a hopeful grin.

“I have no idea how else to convince you without sounding shady,” Hyunjin chuckled.

Seungmin only shrugged to that. “To be fair, you already do.”

Hyunjin looked pleased with himself. “You mean, I’ve convinced you already?”

“No, you already sound shady.” Truthfully, Hyunjin seemed genuine enough to Seungmin. It was probably Changbin he didn’t trust.

Hyunjin jut out his lower lip and let out a sigh, one that sent the strands of hair on his forehead dancing. “Just… Please?” He briefly pressed his palms together in front of himself and looked straight at Seungmin, smiling hopefully.

Seungmin couldn't answer him right away. The realization that Hwang Hyunjin had a smile that was hard to say no to took its time to sink in.

“I'll ask the others, I guess.”

\---

w00gene (01:11): so he caught up with you at the bus stop and asked you  to drink with him on saturday?  
ks2ungmin (01:11): asked /us/  
ks2ungmin (01:12): and it’s not just him, there’s also the rat  
mh___2 (01:12): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  
js___1 (01:12): WE’RE DRINKING WITH A CELEBRITY!!!!!!! WOWOWOWOW  
mh___2(01:13): and you guys exchanged numbers? you’re now officially kakaotalk friends huh?  
ks2ungmin (01:13): he insisted  
mh___2 (01:13): sure (¬‿¬ )  
js___1 (01:14): wait do you guys realize how rich seungmin is and never paid for drinks during the entire six years we’ve all been friends?  
js___1 (01:14): meanwhile i, a mere commoner, have lost track of how many times i’ve paid for drinks and meals  
ks2ungmin (01:14): that’s because i don’t make and agree to dumb bets i’m not gonna win  
ks2ungmin (01:14): you owe me buffet dinner don’t forget  
js___1 (01:14): WTF WAIT WHY  
mh___2 (01:14): nice  
w00gene (01:14): anyway i wanna know how the foreigners liked the chicken  
mh___2 (01:14): and i wanna know more about the rat  
js___1 (01:15): why are you so interested in him minho-hyung??  
js___1 (01:15): you seem obsessed with him hehe  
js___1 (01:15): but ok i wanna drink with the celebrity!!!  
mh___2 (01:15): you’re the one who’s obsessed with the “celebrity” jisung-ah  
mh___2 (01:16): i just want to do a comparative study of two rodent species under the influence of alcohol  
js___1 (01:16): RODENT SPECIES HAHAHAHAHAHAA  
js___1 (01:18): wait two species??  
js___1 (01:18): who’s gonna be the other one?  
ks2ungmin (01:20): are you guys serious?  
mh___2 (01:20): about the rodent study? ye  
w00gene (01:20): i thought you wanted to go seungminnie? that’s why you’re telling us this?  
w00gene (01:20): i mean, if you didn’t want to you could have said no to him already  
w00gene (01:20): and we  could have gone on with our lives  
ks2ungmin (01:24): fuck you all seriously  
mh___2 (01:24): we love you too seungminnie <3<3<3<3<3<3<3  
js___1 (01:25): minho-hyung did you really mean two rodent species???

\---

Seungmin was hardly surprised he arrived first at the restaurant. He asked for a table for six people, and was told to sit outside until one of the bigger tables were free. Thankfully, the cold spell from the other night seemed to have gone, so he didn’t think there would be any issues sitting outside for a while. He figured he wouldn’t have had to wait long too and decided to pass the time by texting his friends that he was already there and he was going to kill them if they don’t arrive within the next five minutes. The first reply was from Minho asking him if he was so excited about tonight that he was rushing them all.

mh___2 (19:09): also i hope you put together an outfit that doesn’t make you look like my grandpa

Already annoyed, Seungmin just shoved his phone into his pocket. He felt it buzz a few times but he just stared into space, trying to think about the overseas holiday his parents are planning for their family during the coming winter break. The thought of spending winter in southern Europe was quick to lift his mood. Perhaps, he could get the camera he’d been considering before they leave; it would be a little earlier than he’d been planning but it would be worth it. He had missed dabbling in photography - it was a hobby only his closest friends would know he engaged in. Sadly, though, the only photos he’d been taking lately are of sick animals and of Jisung sleeping.

“Hey, what are you doing here outside?” an instantly recognizable voice asked him all of a sudden, in what didn’t seem like a long time since he got there. “Sorry, I’m a little late.”

Seungmin looked up and found Hyunjin, standing in a long coat, looking cheerfully at him again. He could only shake his head at the other’s apology after that. “It’s fine, I only just got here myself. Just waiting for a table to free up.”

Hyunjin nodded then quickly took the chair one spot away from Seungmin. Although they were seated on individual chairs and there was plenty of space between them, Seungmin shifted in his seat to make more room.

“And your friend... Changbin, is it?” Seungmin asked, though he couldn’t say he was sorely missing the rat’s presence.

Hyunjin already had his phone out by then. He looked up from the screen and wrinkled his nose. “Stuck somewhere. He says he’ll catch up with us.”

Seungmin only nodded and took his phone out as well. He didn’t mind not talking until the others got there.

“Don’t worry, we’re not gonna suddenly up and leave when it’s time to pay,” Hyunjin suddenly spoke up, just as Seungmin was about to see the other replies from Woojin and Jisung. Hyunjin seemingly had taken his silence as distrust.

Seungmin snorted. “I honestly didn’t think of that until you said it,” he replied with a small smile, then turned his gaze towards his shoes.

“So we don’t seem shady to you anymore?” Hyunjin chuckled.

From the corner of his eye, Seungmin could see Hyunjin’s gaze was turned towards him, rather, his shoes. That made him feel self-conscious and raise his gaze. “Just a little bit, I guess,” he answered, chuckling as well.

“You still came anyway. Thank you for helping us maintain our karma.”

A thought suddenly occurred to Seungmin. He turned sharply towards Hyunjin, frowning deeply. “You guys… aren’t going to try to sell us something, right? Ask us about being open-minded and shit like that?” He felt something inside him sinking at the thought that Hyunjin and the rat were being extra friendly because they were multi-level marketers, or worse. “Are you guys loan sharks? Will you be trying to offer us a loan because you saw we’re university students?”

Hyunjin’s eyes widened at Seungmin’s question. He shook his head vigorously and waved both hands in front of him. “No, no! That’s not it! Oh my god-”

Seungmin felt like Hyunjin’s way of denying it looked genuine. There even seemed to be a hurt look that flashed briefly across the other’s face. From the way Hyunjin and his rodent friend talked about the two foreigners the other night, though, he still couldn’t help but be doubtful. He only continued to frown.

Hyunjin sighed then did a few swipes and taps on his phone screen, before showing it to Seungmin. “Changbin-hyung and I design shirts. Well, he makes them, and I model and sell them.”

Seungmin looked at his phone screen, which displayed an Instagram account containing pictures of Hyunjin and a few other people wearing t-shirts with various designs. Seungmin couldn’t appreciate most of the designs, they seemed to be more of Jisung’s taste, and most of Jisung’s clothes Seungmin would rather be caught dead than seen in. The account had a few thousand followers, however, and that quieted down some of the distrust Seungmin felt. He took his own phone back out to check the account on his own and saw Jisung was indeed following them.

“Oh, so this is why Jisung thinks you’re a celebrity,” Seungmin thought out loud. “He’s following your account.”

“Jisung? The guy who’s always with you at the hospital?”

Seungmin chuckled and then shoved his phone back into his pocket. “Yeah, he said he’s seen you before somewhere and he insists it’s on TV. Weird because neither of us have time to watch TV nowadays.”

Hyunjin laughed out loud, the same hearty laugh that had been making Seungmin feel _weird_ whenever he saw it, and whatever distrust was left in Seungmin just faded. “I wish our shirts could be on TV,” Hyunjin said, sighing, only for his face to light up right away. “But they’re gonna be in Australia soon!”

“What do you mean?” The frown returned to Seungmin’s face but it was more of curiosity than anything else.

“Ah, this is probably TMI,” Hyunjin chuckled again, looking a little embarrassed. “But the two foreigners the other night - Australians - they saw our shirts and asked if we could create a deal where they buy the shirts in bulk and sell them down there. And create a deal we did!”

“Well, congratulations, then,” Seungmin could feel how proud Hyunjin was of it that he couldn’t help but give a rare genuine smile. “Now it makes sense why you guys are making such a big deal out of everything.”

“Yes, exactly!” Hyunjin seemed please to see Seungmin put two and two together, despite Seungmin’s mildly sarcastic choice of words. That seemed to have flown over Hyunjin’s head with his excitement to talk about their milestone. “Hyung and I wanted to celebrate, but not like throw a huge party because we still need to save up and all, and there’s still a lot of work to be done for this. A lot could still go wrong.” Hyunjin paused to wrinkle his nose. “We have a too many friends, so if we threw a party for them, it would be too huge.”

“So you invited the four of us instead?”

“I suppose that was what Changbin-hyung was thinking of when he made that offer,” Hyunjin laughed some more, then turned his gaze away idly. “He’s so random sometimes.”

There was something _fond_ about the way Hyunjin described Changbin that annoyed Seungmin again. He tried to hold his annoyance down, though, along with the urge to ask Hyunjin how he was related to Changbin, other than being childhood friends. There seemed more to the two of them than that and being business partners. He chose to speak no further and let silence take over. He wasn’t sure what to say to Changbin being _so random sometimes_ anyway. The only thing Seungmin could say about Changbin from what he’s seen of him so far is that he was incredibly annoying, and that he can’t stop wondering how someone that annoying could be a functional member of society.

Hyunjin didn’t wait long to break the silence. “And you? Let’s talk about you!” he laughed.

Seungmin scoffed. “You already know I’m studying veterinary medicine at Konkuk. That’s just about the equivalent of what you’ve told me.” he laughed nervously.

“Graduating soon?” Hyunjin asked, seemingly choosing to ignore Seungmin’s remark.

“I wish.” Seungmin shook his head and let out a sigh. He purposely kept his answers curt; he didn’t want Hyunjin digging into too many details.

“Why did you study veterinary medicine, though? Do you have a pet, too?” Seungmin’s lack of enthusiasm didn’t seem to deter Hyunjin. He only seemed even more enthusiastic, but based on Seungmin’s first-hand experience, nothing excited pet owners more than talking about pets.

“Used to.”

Hyunjin’s face was quick to fall. “Oh, I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be. It was ages ago.” Seungmin barely stopped himself from adding the fact that he was studying abroad during most of their family dog’s life span. Choco had been with their family before he was born and was mostly his sister’s dog, anyway. He never felt particularly attached to it or to any animal, though he always thought not having any emotional attachment or fondness towards patients gave him a mild edge over his classmates.

“So you studied veterinary medicine because of your pet…?” Hyunjin asked carefully despite what Seungmin told him about not being sorry.

Seungmin shook his head. “My dad’s a vet.” He realized how that answer could open another can of worms, so he followed it up with a quick and truthful explanation he hoped could explain his choice of a career. “And I like science.”

That seemed to work; Hyunjin laughed out loud, then after a noticeable pause, he wrinkled his nose. “Nerd.”

His tone was playful enough that Seungmin couldn’t help but chuckle as well, though he did note that there was some hesitation in it. “I guess I am,” he replied, shrugging. The teasing made him a little more comfortable, though he still hoped the questioning would end. It wasn’t like he had anything to hide, but he just didn’t like talking about himself so much. At the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder if Hyunjin was genuinely interested in the things he’d been asking, or he was only doing it for the sake of conversation. A small part of him hoped it was a former, and that annoyed the rest of him.

“I’m the last person you’d expect to be a nerd so I’m curious,” Hyunjin said, looking a little apologetic. “What do nerds do during their free time?”

Seungmin let out a snort and turned his gaze back to his shoes. “Nerds in university don’t have free time,” he quipped.

“Don’t nerds in university have summer and winter breaks? The next one’s coming up pretty soon.”

Hyunjin’s teasing and the playful grin on his face were getting to Seungmin in ways that made the corners of his lips turn up and himself let out a resigned sigh. “I do a little photography, I guess.” Right after he said that, he wondered why he revealed that detail about himself.

“Oh?” Hyunjin looked surprised, yet appeared very pleased. Seungmin imagined Hyunjin worked with photographers for their business, and that explained the reaction. “Do you post your photos anywhere? An Instagram account, maybe?”

“Uh.. yeah…” Seungmin took his phone out and after a few taps and swipes across the screen, he showed Hyunjin his Instagram account. There really wasn’t much there, only a bunch of photos he took while he traveled with his family on breaks. Only a few friends knew of his account, and it was set to private. His pictures hardly ever featured people except for an occasional solo picture of himself.

Hyunjin leaned in, placing his face near Seungmin’s. Seungmin felt self-conscious of the distance, or the lack thereof, and in an instant, he sharply inched back. This wasn’t lost on Hyunjin, who did just the same.

“Just getting your username,” Hyunjin explained as he pulled away, looking a little embarrassed, and pointed to his own phone.

“Oh, of course.” Seungmin turned his gaze towards his phone screen, feeling embarrassed himself, looking at nothing in particular, until two follow requests, one from the shirt business Instagram’s account `kkami__shirts` and from a certain `kkamis_hyung` popped up.

“I followed with the wrong account first, sorry. And I hope you don’t mind, your account’s locked--”

Seungmin shook his head as he approved the second follow request on his phone. “It’s fine,” he said without looking up from the screen. He couldn’t resist clicking on Hyunjin’s personal Instagram account and check it out. It seemed fair enough if he was gonna be looking at Seungmin’s own one. There wasn’t much to see on Hyunjin’s account but occasional selcas and pictures of Kkami, however. And Changbin. Sometimes Changbin was by himself in the pictures, sometimes he was with Hyunjin.

Before Seungmin could even begin to think of how to make sense of Changbin’s frequent appearance on Hyunjin’s feed, the other spoke up.

“Wow, you’re good,” he said, sounding impressed, while his eyes remained glued to the screen. “The pictures are all taken from a distance so at first it looks kinda cold, but colors are beautiful, not too bright, but they feel warm in a very… natural way- Does that make sense?” Hyunjin paused and looked down briefly, then laughed, seemingly a little embarrassed about what he said . “I don’t know if that made sense, and it’s not like I’m an expert, but I really think you’re good!”

Seungmin felt a wave of pride wash over him. Hyunjin's compliment seemed so well thought out that it couldn't register with him as anything other than genuine. On top of that, Hyunjin probably had some a bit of knowledge since he needed it for his business, so to Seungmin, he was qualified to give such an opinion. This poured a good amount of self-consciousness over the pride he was feeling that all he could respond with was a nod and a denial.. “You’re exaggerating.”

This seemed to fluster Hyunjin as well. He turned away and laughed softly. “You’re right. I don’t really know that much, I just read one too many Wikipedia articles last night. ”

Seungmin did not expect a reaction at all. A part of him felt bad, but there was also something endearing about Hyunjin getting all flustered. “No, that’s not what I meant- But thank you. What you said was really thoughtful and nice. I appreciate it.”

“You think it makes sense?” Hyunjin blinked at him, looking surprised.

“Of course. How does it not make sense?” Seungmin chuckled a little, though he tried not to smile too widely at the look on Hyunjin’s face. “It definitely sounds more genuine than the other things I’ve heard.”

Hyunjin let out a sigh of relief then leaned back in his seat and turned his gaze ahead. “People hardly ever take me seriously when I say things like that.”

Seungmin frowned at him. He had no idea what Hyunjin meant. “Why?”

Hyunjin remained quiet for a while, then laughed as he turned to Seungmin. “It’s hard to explain without sounding arrogant.”

“I seriously don’t get it.” The smile on Seungmin’s face grew strained. He was starting to feel annoyed again, not at Hyunjin in particular, but because of the fact that he can’t understand what Hyunjin meant, no matter how much he tried.  He felt like he should be smarter than this. “Try me.”

Hyunjin looked at Seungmin, his eyes narrowed, as if sizing up Seungmin if he was up to the task of understanding what he was about to say, making Seungmin fidget in his seat. After what seemed like forever, Hyunjin winced, then let out a loud sigh. “Well, when people _think_ a person is _good-looking_ , they just… don’t expect that person to be anything more than that.”

It was Seungmin’s turn to narrow his eyes at Hyunjin while he tried to digest what Hyunjin just said. Once he did, though, his face lit up. “Oh. _Oh._ ” He could understand where Hyunjin was coming from: being boxed into a particular image or role by other people wasn’t a foreign experience.

“Did that make sense?” Hyunjin asked right away.

“Of course.” Seungmin nodded, and gave him a reassuring smile. He was tempted to reach out and give Hyunjin a pat on the shoulder upon seeing how uneasy the look on the other’s face was, but he only did that to the closest of his friends, and he hadn’t really known Hyunjin for that long. “I don’t think you have to worry about people thinking like that about you at this point, though.”

“Why not? People never stop being judgmental,” Hyunjin chuckled nervously.

“You’re running what looks like a pretty successful business with your friend, at a young age -- well, you don’t seem older than me, at least. That ought to shut people up.” Seungmin spoke carefully, knowing how what he was saying could come off as presumptuous. He still knew very little about Hyunjin after all. At the back of his mind, he wished he could know more. “Not a lot of those judgmental people could say that about themselves.”

Hyunjin shook his head. “I can’t go around announcing that to anyone I meet,” he laughed. “And it’s mostly on Changbin-hyung anyway. His designs are great, that’s what makes the business successful.”

Seungmin frowned, and mentally shuddered when he was reminded of the shirt designs he saw. “I don’t know how you guys do business but do you really think the r-- Changbin can run the business on his own?”

“He’s a lot more capable than what most people think, actually.” Seungmin thought he saw _that_ fond look flash across Hyunjin’s face again, almost as if Hyunjin was starstruck. He felt annoyed all over again, he couldn’t believe that after everything they’ve talked about, Hyunjin still didn’t seem to give himself a bit of the credit he deserved, and worst of all, they were talking about Changbin again. It was frustrating.

“Suit yourself,” he mumbled under his breath and turned away. Hyunjin didn’t seem to have heard him, though.

“But hey, I’ll keep in mind what you said,” Hyunjin continued to speak. “I feel a lot better after hearing that. Thank you.” He turned to Seungmin with a huge smile that made Seungmin forget for an entire second why he was feeling so annoyed and frustrated.

Seungmin found it hard to find what to say to that, as simple as it was. “I… I was just speaking my mind… but yeah. Give yourself a little more credit-”

“Seungmin-ah!” He heard Woojin’s voice call his name out close by. He looked up from his screen and found him, with Minho and Jisung in tow approaching them from the street.

“Did you guys agree to meet somewhere else first before coming here _late_?” Seungmin immediately questioned the three of them with a glare as soon as they reached the restaurant’s entrance.

Jisung opened his mouth, but Minho tugged at Jisung’s arm and spoke on the younger one’s behalf with a smile that seemed too sweet to to come across as convincing. “No, no, of course not.” The look on his face quickly changed, though, as he looked around and realized someone was missing. “Wait, where’s the rat?”

“Hey guys, glad you came,” Hyunjin greeted the three of them with a small wave of his hand. “And the rat-” He paused to chuckle softly. “Changbin-hyung will be a little late.”

“Bro!” Jisung called Hyunjin before anyone else could continue the conversation from there, his eyes wide and fascinated as he looked up at the much taller male.. “I’ve been meaning to ask you this since forever, but are you a celebrity? I’m like 210% sure I’ve seen you somewhere before!”

Seungmin found himself exchanging looks with Hyunjin over this, and both of them shared a laugh..

\---

Changbin arrived as soon as they managed to settle into their seats inside the restaurant. Seungmin was watching Woojin recommend other items on the menu to Hyunjin that were, surprisingly, not fried chicken, while Minho and Jisung were caught up in a conversation by themselves that involved, for some reason, sword-fighting using chopsticks. All of a sudden, Changbin showed up from behind Hyunjin, and gave everyone on the table a small wave with his hand.

“Yo.” He opened his greeting with yet another kind of grunt. “I see you all made it. Cool.” He sat beside Hyunjin, who was sitting across Seungmin. It seemed there was something he needed to say to Hyunjin right away, because he wasted no time into whispering something into Hyunjin’s ear.

Seungmin turned his eyes away and pretended to look at the menu, which he already knew by heart given how often they ate there. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Hyunjin whispering something back, and then the two of them were grinning at each other widely.

\---

To his credit, Changbin seemed to be a natural at being funny. Even Seungmin found himself genuinely laughing along some of his stories, as much as he wanted to chalk it up to everyone else’s laughter being infectious.  With Changbin being the center of attention, though, it was hard not to notice how Hyunjin’s arm seemed practically glued along Changbin’s shoulders for almost throughout the entire time they were there, except perhaps while eating. Seungmin tried not to think about it, he kept telling himself that whatever was between them was none of his business anyway.

The conversation went back to Jisung having believed for the longest time that Hyunjin was a celebrity who’s previously appeared on TV.

“I really thought he was an actor or an idol!” Jisung exclaimed, his cheeks already tinted pink from the several shots of soju he had taken already.

Hyunjin shook his head, laughing and waving a hand in front of him. “No way, there’s no way I’m appearing on TV anytime soon.”

“Look at him be all modest! ” Changbin spoke up in a cutesy voice. “Our Hyunjinnie is so handsome, he’ll be a celebrity no matter what he does!” He then reached out to pinch Hyunjin on the cheek, which Hyunjin barely avoided. Seungmin noticed Hyunjin scoff and swat away Changbin's hand. Changbin snorted in return then both laughed.

“He’s right!” Jisung agreed, nodding his head profusely. “I didn’t _mistake_ you for a celebrity. I simply saw the future!”

“Wow. WOW. That makes perfect sense, bro, you're a genius!” Changbin stood up and reached across the table to give Jisung a high-five, which Jisung returned with much enthusiasm.

“Wow, they’re two of a kind, aren’t they?” Seungmin had to remark softly at the sight of Jisung and Changbin.

Only Woojin must have heard him amidst all the laughter., “Minho must be having a field day for his rodent study.” They both threw a glance at Minho, who seemed to be enjoying the entire thing himself.

Changbin sat back down and raised his glass in the air. “A toast to my man’s future celebrity career.”

Changbin’s words rang in Seungmin’s ears with a dull sting he wasn’t sure what to make of. _My man_? Before he could even try to figure out what to make of that, he felt Woojin give his shoulder a gentle push. He looked around and found everyone with their glasses raised near Changbin’s. They were all looking at Seungmin and waiting for him to do the same. Seungmin blinked a few times before he hastily followed suit.

After Seungmin downed his shot, he couldn’t help but have his gaze turn towards Hyunjin and Changbin again. This time, Hyunjin’s arm had dropped to Changbin’s waist. The smaller male on the other hand, was leaning into Hyunjin’s arm, looking rather comfortable.

“Guys, seriously, I’m not gonna be a celebrity,” Hyunjin laughed, but he had an uneasy look about his face.

“He’s always pretending to be modest, guys, don’t buy it,” Changbin waved a hand in front of him. Everyone else laughed. Seungmin tried to chuckle along, but he was too distracted by the sight of Hyunjin and Changbin in front of him.

“Hyung!” Hyunjin protested. Despite his protest, though, he was laughing and pulling Changbin closer towards him.

Seungmin just couldn’t stand it anymore.

He looked at his watch, or pretended to despite knowing it was still pretty early in the night. “Uh, guys, I got to go, sorry. I remembered I’m doing something early tomorrow morning,” he spoke up all of a sudden and stood from his seat. He gave everyone on the table the best apologetic smile he could manage. He saw Hyunjin’s face fall, which made Seungmin pretend to look at his watch again. “I had a great time, thanks for tonight.”

“What?!” Jisung was the first to react. “Seungminnie, it’s still early. I’m not even drunk yet!”

“Suddenly?” Woojin asked him, frowning.

Seungmin nodded and quickly came up with an excuse. “Yeah, I promised my dad I’ll drive him to the airport tomorrow morning. I just remembered.”

“Isn’t that for Monday, though? That’s why you’re switching shifts with Choyeon?” Minho slid his arm off of Jisung to turn to Seungmin.

Seungmin took a deep breath, trying to rein in the growing annoyance in his gut. He just remembered he told Minho, the one responsible for organizing shifts at the hospital, the day before. He pursed his lips tightly and put on a straight face. “I need to go,” he repeated with his tone firm this time. He could feel the atmosphere turn awkward, and he felt a little bad for doing that, but backing down now would only make him look worse.

“What a pity,” Changbin hummed and leaned further into Hyunjin’s arm.

Hyunjin, meanwhile, looked at him with his brows knit together, looking very worried, almost as if Kkami had fallen sick again.

“Sorry. I guess I’ll see you guys around,” he told Changbin and Hyunjin hastily, then took a step back from the table. He wanted nothing more than leave already.

Hyunjin unwrapped his arm from Changbin and stood up from his seat. “I’ll walk you to the bus stop.”

Seungmin frowned. He didn’t need anyone to walk him to the bus stop. He’d been eating and drinking at this restaurant for five years already. “Thank you, but you don’t have to.” He turned around sharply, hoping his body language would add the weight needed to make Hyunjin back down. As he went through the doorway, though, he heard Hyunjin’s voice right behind him.

“Uhm, so--”

Seungmin turned around, frowning. “Didn’t I say--”

“I just wanted to tell _you_ I had fun tonight.” Hyunjin almost looked apologetic. Seungmin felt something inside him sink. He pursed his lips in an attempt to not let that show.

“I actually thought you’re intimidating but you’re fun- I really enjoyed talking with you earlier. I was- I want to ask if you…” Hyunjin paused to let out an embarrassed chuckle. “...If you want to hang out again soon? Ah.. I could have sent you a message but there you go, I guess.”

Seungmin only stared blankly at him. Again, Changbin calling Hyunjin _my man_ rang in his ears.

“It could be just the two of us… or with the others? Whichever you like?” Hyunjin continued, looking hopefully at him.

A few seconds went by before Seungmin could answer. He could admit to himself that he liked Hyunjin a lot more than he should, and had Hyunjin timed his question a few hours earlier, Seungmin would have agreed without much hesitation. At the same time, though, he couldn’t understand what Hyunjin intended with his invitation. If he had only wanted to be friends, would he have gone out of his way to come after Seungmin to ask that? On the other hand, though, he seemed to very likely have something going on with something else. A lot of people surely were touchy-feely with their friends, but a lot were also touchy-feely with people they were more than friends with. _My man_ could very well have meant anything.

But Seungmin just didn’t like taking chances.

He turned around again to head to the street and let out a sigh. “I’m... I’m gonna miss my bus. Thank you for tonight.”

\---

js___1 (11:45): how did i get home  
js___1 (11:45): i don’t remember a thing  
js___1 (11:45): but thank you ╥_╥  
mh___2 (11:45): you’re welcome  
mh___2 (11:45): how are you feeling?  
js___1 (11:46): like shit >.>  
mh___2 (11:46): i left a couple of bottles of raisin tea with you when i dropped you off last night  
mh___2 (11:46): did you see it?  
js___1 (11:47): ah there it is!!!!  
js___1 (11:47): thank you hyung you’re the best!!!! (つ✧ω✧)つ  
w00gene (11:48): han jisung when will you learn not to drink more than you can handle  
js___1 (11:49): do i remember it right or  
js___1 (11:49): did binnie-hyung say we get a friend discount now when we buy stuff from them  
w00gene (11:50): wow you call him binnie-hyung now??  
w00gene (11:50): but yeah you remembered it right  
mh___2 (11:50): im noting this down for my study  
js___1 (11:51): yeah!! He’s pretty cool isn’t he?? It was really a blast  
js___1 (11:51): for most of it  
js___1 (11:51): too bad seungminnie decided to be lame and left early  
w00gene (11:51): yeah the mood kinda changed when he left  
w00gene (11:51): but it got fun again after changbin’s friend came over  
js___1 (11:52): right she was really cool!!!! and pretty too  
js___1 (11:52): isn’t she his girlfriend??  
js___1 (11:52): they’re both so tiny kkkkk  
mh___2 (11:52): says goliath here  
w00gene (11:53): he just said she’s chaeyoung then that was it  
w00gene (11:53): so i assume she’s a friend  
js___1 (11:53): i’m pretty sure she’s his girlfriend  
js___1 (11:55): hul he’s single on facebook though  
mh___2 (11:55): not everyone updates their relationship status on fb now  
mh___2 (11:55): i think i heard the word cousin??  
mh___2 (11:55): but don’t trust me on this  
w00gene (11:55): you’re facebook friends with changbin already??  
mh___2 (11:56): seungmin’s reading guys  
mh___2 (11:56): we see you loser ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  
mh___2 (11:56): you didn’t drive your dad to the airport this morning did you  
w00gene (11:56): hyunjin followed you out when you left last night  
w00gene (11:55): then when he came back in  
w00gene (11:56): he was kinda quiet…?  
mh___2 (11:57): ye  
w00gene (11:57): did anything happen seungmin?

\---

“Wow, you’re nice to me today,” Jisung said in awe as he watched Seungmin place a cup of hot coffee in front of him. “Are you sick?” His voice rang across the empty cafeteria, and though Seungmin was used to Jisung talking loudly, he found it grating.

“You don’t want it?” Seungmin asked, glaring, ready to reach out and take the cup of coffee back.

“Geez, no need to be so angry,” Jisung frowned and grabbed the coffee cup by its body, which he quickly realized wasn’t a very good idea. He pulled his hand back, wincing in pain.

Seungmin sighed as he sat across the table from Jisung. “Sorry about that. And the past few days.”

Finals were fast approaching, and assignments, papers, and problem sets were piling up high. Shifts at the hospital hadn't gotten any less intense either, and on their last shift, Jisung and Seungmin had to stay past dinnertime for an emergency. Seungmin's temper had grown shorter than ever under stress and exhaustion. Or at least, that was what he'd like to think was the reason for him frequently snapping at Jisung. The latter was under the same kind of stress but he seemed as cheery as always.

There was more to Seungmin’s terrible mood than stress; he just refused to acknowledge it, even just to himself. On top of worrying over what he needed to do to get through this semester (with good grades, that was a given), he couldn’t stop thinking about what happened last Saturday night, about Hwang Hyunjin and how Seungmin had acted towards him. The more he thought about it, the more Seungmin wondered if he was going to regret what he did or not. He would also think about the conversation they had, how Hyunjin was doing, and if Hyunjin had indeed kept in mind what Seungmin told him about giving himself more credit. At the end of his train of thought, he’d get frustrated that he couldn’t stop thinking about these things, and that would be when his mood would turn sour. Since Jisung was his regular shift partner and they shared most of their classes, he was frequently the nearest person Seungmin could lash out at, despite having nothing to do with any of Seungmin’s troubles at all. He’d go off at Jisung for asking a simple question, or get pissed at the slightest teasing his shift partner would do.

In front of him, Jisung shook his head and smiled widely, which made Seungmin feel even worse about having been horrible to him. “Just tell me I don't owe you buffet dinner anymore.” His face then suddenly lit up. “Better yet, treat _me_ to buffet dinner.”

Seungmin pursed his lips. It was such a petty matter but he did not like to have his record of not having ever to pay for dinner broken. Then again, though, he really did want to make it up to Jisung, who seemed to have been patient with him all week. Seungmin didn’t think a cup of coffee would be enough.

“Okay fine. But don’t tell Woojin-hyung and Minho-hyung-”

“Guys? Anyone in here?” Seungmin was interrupted by Minho, peeping into the cafeteria through the half-open door.

Jisung’s face lit up almost immediately, failing to notice the fresh stain of blood on Minho’s scrubs. “Hyung! Did you know Seungmi-”

“Emergency at Surgery Room #3. Please be there as soon as you can.”

\---

At the end of the two-hour operation, the mother and her pups didn’t survive. The owner had brought their dog in too late, and it hadn’t been in a good condition to begin with. Jisung and Seungmin had tried their best to help their professor revive the pups, but it was all in vain.

This was the first time both of them had an animal die under their care. Seungmin didn’t expect it to feel this heavy. He wasn’t sure if it was because he felt like he failed somehow, or he indeed felt bad for the poor animal. The owner, as it turned out, had been terribly irresponsible about their pet dog; Seungmin almost wondered if their neglect could count for animal cruelty.  He and Jisung, who buried his face into his hands and tried to muffle his sobs, sat near the triage desk after they had both cleaned up. Seungmin remained quiet, staring into space, while thinking if there was something else they could have done.

His thoughts were interrupted by Woojin’s voice from the other end of the hallway. “Well, Kkami. I do hope we don’t see you anytime too soon. But remember, your shots are due in a couple of months.”

Woojin’s remark was greeted by a familiar laugh. “Yeah. Thanks to all of you guys,” Seungmin could see Hyunjin grinning from hearing his voice alone.

“Not me, it was Jisung and Seungmin who’d helped out the most. They should have been the ones to help you out today, too, but they got called in for an emergency surgery, and all I did was stand in for them.” Seungmin could hear Woojin’s voice getting closer, and he wondered if Hyunjin would find him and Jisung sitting there, still in their bloodied scrubs.

“I see, they must be hard at work. Please just tell them I said hi. And thank you.” His tone remained cheerful.

“Actually, I think they should have finished a few minutes ago. I can check. You wanna go see them?”

“Uh, actually...”

Seungmin heard Woojin’s footsteps get closer. He tried to decide if he should go over and say hi. It certainly wouldn’t be the wisest choice nor was it a necessary one. He wasn’t in a very presentable state, and he was physically and mentally exhausted beyond relief. Woojin also seemed to have handled everything about Kkami’s last visit as well. Saying hi wasn’t necessary; he could ask Woojin for Kkami’s file later on if he wanted to read up about the dog. He looked at Jisung again and wondered if it would be all right to leave him there, but to his surprise, Minho was already on Jisung’s other side, with one arm wrapped around Jisung’s shoulders to console him.

  
Seungmin stood up and walked over to the front of the triage desk. He found Woojin bending over to be at eye level with Kkami, whom Hyunjin was carrying in his arms.

“Hey,” Seungmin greeted, his voice a little weaker than usual.

“Hi.” Hyunjin stared at him for a few moments, with the smile Seungmin was pretty sure he heard in Hyunin’s voice gone all of a sudden. Hyunjin then turned his gaze towards his dog.. “Kkami’s all well now. Thanks to you and Jisung.”

“No need to thank us. Take care of him well.” Seungmin paused, wanting to say something else, but Woojin was still there, looking at the two of them.

Woojin must have felt something. He suddenly took a step back and gave both a sheepish smile. “I have to go fetch a file-”

“Actually, I know you guys are busy so I won’t hold you up much longer,” Hyunjin raised his head and smiled at them both.  “I’ll see you guys in no sooner than a couple of months, I hope.” With that, he turned around, giving a small wave directed to seemingly no one in particular

“Uh, yeah, bye!” Woojin waved at Hyunjin’s retreating figure, then turned to Seungmin looking confused.

\---

“Wow, I’ve never seen you doze off while studying. I wish _I_ made a bet with you this time around.” Seungmin heard Jisung’s fascinated voice out of seemingly nowhere. Only then did he realize that his cheek was against his open textbook, and that he was in the library. He raised his head from the table and looked around. There were more people than he could remember. Across the table, Jisung, Minho, and Woojin watched him. He took his glasses off to rub his eyes.

“Shut up,” was the first thing he said to Jisung. He acknowledged the older two with a small nod.

“So Woojin and I are taking you and Jisung out for a drink,” Minho announced, then held up a hardbound book in front of him.  Beside him, Woojin grinned proudly. Both of them were wearing ties and crisp-looking dress shirts.

Seungmin squinted to make out what was printed on the cover. When he realized what was written on it, he straightened up in his seat. “Shit, today was your final defense, right? How did it go?”

“Thank you for remembering, Loser,” Woojin laughed, then reached out to give Seungmin a playful shove. “You said you were gonna watch.”

“Sorry.” Seungmin smiled apologetically at both of them. He genuinely felt bad for having missed out on such an important event for his friends, one he promised he’d go to. He had gone to the library hours ago to study while waiting for Woojin and Minho’s thesis defense to start, but he guessed he had fallen asleep. It was the week before finals already, and he only had a few days to study _and_ finish writing his papers. He usually worked efficiently enough to not lose too much sleep, but it was getting harder and harder to be concentrate and focus with all the exhaustion piling up.

There were other things not related to school still on his mind as well. Even if a few weeks had gone by already, trying to brush his other thoughts under the rug hadn’t become any easier. He had become nicer to Jisung, though. Most of the time, he was just too tired to be angry.

“Don’t worry, you’ve made up for it by showing us that you are, indeed, human, and fall asleep in the library like the rest of us,” Minho winked at him. “Now get up, the alcohol won’t walk to the library.”

“You guys are praising him for falling asleep in the library and missing out on your thesis defense while you give me hell for it all the time?” Jisung protested loudly, earning him a few glares from the other students in the library.

Seungmin opened his mouth to protest; he had one last paper due in two days and he’d been hoping to go home early to work on it. The sight of his three friends, though, and the thought that it’ll just be Jisung and himself very soon, made him change his mind. He shoved his books into his backpack and stood up. “Let’s go. Congrats to you two!”

\---

Their celebratory dinner turned out to be short. Jisung passed out sooner than usual, which wasn’t surprising. The fatigue had made it even more difficult for him to hold his alcohol. Minho again took it upon himself to take Jisung home.

“Who’s gonna do this for you next semester, dumbass?” he asked an unconscious Jisung as he hauled him out of the restaurant.

Woojin, whose weight Seungmin could barely hold up with his shoulders, laughed at the sight of them. “Oh no, Minho, are you gonna flunk ethics class on purpose so you can stay behind to watch over your favorite junior?”

“Hyung, be careful--” Woojin was moving around too much for Seungmin to be able to hold him up steadily. At the same time, he was warning Woojin about what he had just said. No one had been that direct about Minho’s _fondness_ for Jisung before.

To Seungmin relief, though, Minho only smiled sweetly at Woojin. “Why? Will you be jealous if I did?”

Seungmin felt Woojjin shudder. “Yah, Lee Minho! What makes you think I’ll be jealous?! What the fuck?!” he spoke angrily.

Minho only laughed. Seungmin had to hold his own laughter in or both he and Woojin would topple over. He, too, wasn’t as sober as he would have liked.

“I’m calling a cab,” Seungmin declared, and carefully sat himself and Woojin down on one the waiting chairs outside the restaurant. He looked up at Minho who was readjusting how he was holding Jisung up. “You’re still taking the bus? Maybe we can drop you and Jisung off somewhere along the way?”

“No, it’s fine,” Minho smiled at him reassuringly. “This is probably gonna be the last time, after all.”

Seungmin felt his heart sink upon hearing the word _last_.  The corners of his lips turned downwards, and with the alcohol still swirling in his system, he spoke his mind freely without thinking about how Minho will tease him for it later. “I’m.. I’m gonna miss you and Woojin-hyung. Jisung will, too, for sure.”

“Psh, come on,” Minho scoffed then smiled reassuringly at Seungmin.. “Woojin and I will be hanging around Seoul a bit longer for the licensure exams.”

“It won’t be the same, though-”

“Take care of yourself, Seungminnie. And Jisung. Be nicer to him, your lashing out does get to him sometimes,” Minho interrupted him, still smiling.. “It’s nice to see you being sappy for once, though.”

“Hyung, don’t make me regret talking freely for once, please…” Seungmin could feel his cheeks warming up more than they already did. Beside him, Woojin only laughed.

\---

“Tonight was cut short. I suppose we can drink again soon.” Woojin was looking outside the window as the cab drove past the traffic lights. There was still a bit of traffic on their route, a reminder that they had ended their dinner earlier than usual.

Seungmin chuckled and turned to Woojin. “Maybe, after finals week? You guys would still be free by then right?”

“Yeah, of course. We’re not going anywhere too far yet,” Woojin told him reassuringly, despite the slur in his voice. They both turned quiet for a while. Seungmin wasn’t sure what to say, and he wasn’t sure if Woojin was in any state to talk. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a billboard for eggs.

He turned towards Woojin again and broke the silence. “So hyung, are you really gonna work in poultry after the licensure exams? As in, seriously? No sarcasm, please.”

Woojin snorted and laughed out loud, prompting the cab driver to look at them through the rearview mirror. “Honestly, I don’t know. Whatever job I land, I guess. Not all of us are inheriting an entire private practice, Seungminnie...”

“Uhm.”

“I’m just kidding,” Woojin laughed some more, reaching out to pat Seungmin’s arm. “I mean, I would really like to work in poultry, actually. So you weren’t wrong to believe me, but if I find a job here in Seoul, I’ll go for it. The pay here’s better.”

“Ah…” Seungmin wasn’t sure what to say to that. Truthfully, he found it a little hard to relate. Plans had already been set for him. After his licensure exams, he’ll go abroad for a couple of years to take on graduate studies, then work as one of his father’s assistants at their family’s private practice. It wasn’t like his parents urged him to inherit the practice. In an ideal world, Seungmin knew he wasn’t going to be studying veterinary medicine. However, he felt like it would be stupid of him to pass up on such a privilege and he didn’t really want to take chances on a career where he wouldn’t have as much certainty. He didn’t hate what he was doing anyway, and he still enjoyed it to an extent. He’d always had an aptitude for sciences as well, and Seungmin liked sticking to  things he was good at.

Woojin must have felt Seungmin’s uneasiness with the topic. “Okay, since I honestly answered a question for you, why don’t you answer one for me, too?” he spoke up when Seungmin had gone quiet.

Feeling grateful for the change in topic, Seungmin nodded immediately. “Sure thing.”

“So what happened between you and Hwang Hyunjin?”

Seungmin did not see that question coming, and he could only hide his surprise with a nervous laugh. “Hyung, I asked you a yes-no question.”

“I gave you more than a yes-no answer, though,” Woojin looked at Seungmin pointedly. “I saw the two of you during Kkami’s last visit. There was something off.”

“You were imagining things,” was all Seungmin replied as he turned his gaze outside the window.

“And that, you swear, is an honest answer? If you say it is, I’ll believe you.”

Seungmin turned towards Woojin again, whom he found was looking straight at him, though his eyes were only half-open. He realized he couldn’t really lie to such a good friend, even when they were drunk. Perhaps, Woojin could even help him, or maybe Woojin wouldn’t even remember they talked about this. Seungmin took a deep breath before he started talking.

“So… he sort of asked me if we could keep hanging out. And I didn’t answer him. I guess that was effectively a no.”

“Oh, why?” Seungmin saw Woojin’s face fall. “I know we teased you a bit, but you really didn’t like him, huh?”

Seungmin took another deep breath and shook his head. It was going to be his first time admitting it out loud, but the words came out easier than he thought they would. “I think I do.”

“Oh, then why didn’t you say yes?” Woojin straightened up in his seat.

Seungmin paused before answering, rethinking his reasons. Suddenly, they seemed so trivial and he felt that maybe Woojin would laugh at him for it.. “The rat...”

“What?”

Seungmin cleared his throat, with his answer sounding more like a frog’s croak than anything else. “Changbin.”

Woojin snorted, which came to Seungmin as a relief. That was a little better than the mocking laugh he had expected. “But Changbin has a girlfriend?”

“ _Could_ have a girlfriend. You guys said you weren’t sure. Minho-hyung even thought she’s his cousin, right?”

Woojin’s shoulders rose slightly in a shrug. “Fair enough.”

“Or he could have a girlfriend but Hyunjin has a thing for him anyway,” Seungmin added.

“Or he could have a girlfriend but has a thing for Hyunjin anyway.” Woojin tried to mimic the flat tone Seungmin.

“Or he doesn’t have a girlfriend and he and Hyunjin are dating.”

“Or he doesn’t have a girlfriend but he and Hyunjin aren’t dating.” Woojin snickered.

“Hyung, what are you getting at?” Seungmin turned to him sharply with a frown on his face. The good mood he had was slowly evaporating with how obnoxious Woojin was being.

“He just asked you to hang out with him, Seungmin, he didn’t ask you to marry him.”

Seungmin felt his cheeks warm up in embarrassment and in his haste to fire back at Woojin, he could only come up with a messy defense. “I mean, I like him already, but I don’t want to like him even more if there’s going to be all that uncertainty about what Changbin is hanging about. I mean, I don’t even know if he’s… _you know_. He could very well like women..”

Woojin laughed. “The easiest way to pry a proper answer out of you will always be to piss you off.”

“Whatever.”

Woojin reached out again to pat him on the arm. “You really don’t make bets you’re not sure you’re gonna win, huh?”

Seungmin wondered where he’d heard this before, then remembered he had said it to Jisung himself. “Why are you bringing Jisung up now?”

“I mean, in this case, you’re not sure you’re gonna win in the end with Hyunjin. You don’t know what he has going on with Changbin, or if he’d even like you the way you already like him, so rather than _possibly_ lose, you prefer to be pissy and miserable thinking about what could have been.”

He couldn’t really fire back at Woojin and tell him he’s wrong. If anything, he was over a hundred percent correct. “I’ll get over it eventually,” was all he managed to reply.

“If you are going to then please do it quickly for poor Jisungie’s sake,” Woojin quipped and laughed yet again. “He can’t stay a saint for too long.”

Seungmin sighed. “I’m trying.”

“Noted.” Woojin let out yet another laugh, while Seungmin wasn’t sure what was funny anymore. “But think about it, Seungmin. You’ve been sulking over this for weeks, losing sleep and getting distracted from school and it’s almost finals week. You totally haven’t been yourself at all. Don’t you think you’re losing already?”

\---

ks2ungmin (08:14): Good morning!  
ks2ungmin (08:14): As part of our standard procedure here at Konkuk University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, we would like to follow up on Kkami’s recent condition. Please don’t hesitate to bring him to us should there be anything unusual in his appetite or behavior.

(“That’s really the best you could come up with? What if he believes you and goes around telling people that we do this on the regular?” Woojin asked Seungmin, laughing, when he showed him the text he sent. “Aren’t you supposed to be the smartest kid around here?”

“Hey, what are you two looking at?” Jisung charged in from behind them, with Minho following close by, and read the message as well. “Wait, we’re supposed to do that?!” he asked Woojin, looking rather frantic that there was a part of the procedure he had missed out on. “I haven’t done that once the entire semester!”)

hwhj320 (11:21): Hello. Kkami’s doing great, I haven’t noticed anything unusual with him, and my roommate no longer feeds him table food as well. Thank you for checking up on him.  
hwhj320 (11:22): I’ll be sure to bring him for his shots next month.  
ks2ungmin (11:22): I’m happy to be able to report that to Dr. Jang. Thank you and have a nice day.

(“Don’t be dumb and just say hi,” Minho ordered Seungmin after swallowing down a bite of his lunch. Woojin had convinced him to tell Minho and Jisung about what was going on in his KakaoTalk and ask them for their opinion.

“Says the person who’s been dancing around the person he’s liked for years…” Woojin remarked, looking around the cafeteria idly.

Jisung’s eyes widened. “You like someone, hyung?!”)

ks2ungmin (11:30): actually  
ks2ungmin (11:30): i just wanted to say hi  
hwhj320 (11:35): oh hey! :)  
hwhj320 (11:35): i mean hi too haha  
hwhj320 (11:35): how’ve you been  
ks2ungmin (11:36): just so-so  
ks2ungmin (11:36): finals week is coming up so yeah  
ks2ungmin (11:36): how about you  
hwhj320 (11:36): just so-so  
hwhj320 (11:36): i hope you don’t mind me using the same word but it’s kinda perfect XD  
hwhj320 (11:37): but yeah we’ve been working double-time… we’re getting a lot of orders and all  
ks2ungmin (11:37): you seem busy  
hwhj320 (11:38): not anymore than you are probably  
ks2ungmin (11:38): my problems will be over in a week at least  
ks2ungmin (11:38): not sure about you  
hwhj320 (11:39): actually once we get this batch of shirts printed out by next week we’re gonna chill for a while  
ks2ungmin (11:40): good to know you’ll be getting some rest soon  
ks2ungmin (11:45): uh so since you could be free after next week  
ks2ungmin (11:45): do you want to like  
ks2ungmin (11:46): hang out?

(“Finally!” Woojin exclaimed loudly upon seeing Seungmin send the text, drawing the attention of everyone in the cafeteria.)

hwhj320 (12:29): i thought you’d never ask  
hwhj320 (12:29): haha  
ks2ungmin (12:30): i thought so too  
ks2ungmin (12:31): but i don’t think i ever got to tell you i had fun talking to you the last time too  
ks2ungmin (12:31): so  
ks2ungmin (12:31): yeah

\--- _end._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changbin shrugged. “Anything ambiguous drives you mad, my friend. Unless things are spelled out clearly for you, you’ll keep thinking to yourself what this or that means. Oh, Seungmin blinked, does that mean he hates me or he likes me?”
> 
> Hyunjin wasn’t sure what to answer to that. Changbin knew him like he knew the back of his hand and was entirely correct about him, up to the point that Hyunjin could concede that Changbin wasn’t even exaggerating about the blinking part.
> 
> or: Hyunjin and Seungmin get on well after a few bumps on the road, but Hyunjin needs to know where that road is going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--- This chapter takes on a non-linear narrative (-issshh) and I'm not sure if I've made that clear enough, so I hope it doesn't get too confusing.
> 
> \--- Thank you, thank you, thank you for the feedback on the last chapter. I'm sorry I haven't been able to reply to the comments, but please do know I read and am grateful for each one. ❤️

hwhj0320 (17:45): seungminnie!  
hhwj0320 (17:45): it’s around breakfast time over there right?  
hhwj0320 (17:45): how’s the trip so far?  
ks2ungmin (19:34): hey!  
ks2ungmin (19:34): sorry for the late reply  
ks2ungmin (19:34): there was no signal on the boat  
ks2ungmin (19:35): it’s been great though!  
ks2ungmin (19:35): it’s only been a few days but i feel like i’ve seen a ton of places already  
hhwj0320 (19:40): it’s fine  
hhwj0320 (19:41): did you take lots of pictures?  
hhwj0320 (19:41): can i see?  
hhwj0320 (19:42): btw the cousin from busan i told you about  
hhwj0320 (19:42): the one who’s moving in with us  
hhwj0320 (19:42): he’s arriving tomorrow!  
ks2ungmin (01:15): hell yeah  
ks2ungmin (01:15): i’ll send them right here later when i get a better connection  
ks2ungmin (01:15): wait, you asleep already?  
ks2ungmin (01:16): and oh cool i’ll meet him as soon as i get back

\---

“Hyung, do you think I can tell him I miss him already?”

Changbin looked up from his bowl of fried rice, mixed with leftovers from the previous week he found in the fridge. He said he was in the mood to cook himself and it would be nice to not order food in for once. Hyunjin pointed out that those were leftovers from food they’d ordered in, but Changbin only told Hyunjin to sit back, relax and watch him “perform magic.” The end result turned out less than ideal, however. Hyunjin couldn’t describe how it tasted other than horrendous; he practically ate without chewing to end the agony as soon as possible. No matter how terrible it was, Hyunjin still didn’t want to put his best friend’s effort to waste. Changbin, meanwhile, went for the opposite approach towards the problem, and slowly labored through eating his “breakfast.”

“Are you asking me if you can tell your boyfriend you miss him already?” Changbin asked before hesitantly taking another bite out of his masterpiece. 

Hyunjin winced and shook his head. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Changbin’s eyes widened, looking indignant. “He’s not your boyfriend yet? All this time, I’ve been tolerating being insulted from my couch everyday because I thought you guys were official. Can we charge him rent then?”

“Not everyday, hyung, just a few times a week maybe- and it’s only recently that he started coming here often, so no, we can’t charge him rent,” Hyunjin explained to Changbin carefully, though he knew well his roommate and best friend wasn’t really mad. If anything, he could tell Changbin enjoyed exchanging insults with Seungmin, since it was the latter who ended up getting pissed off all the time.

“Fine. Let’s charge him for electricity usage then.” Changbin’s face then suddenly lit up. “Or water. Isn’t he always washing his hands?”

“Hyung.” Hyunjin looked at Changbin pointedly while trying to fight down the blush creeping up his cheeks and trying to stop his best friend from diverting the conversation. “He works at a hospital. Of course, he’ll be used to washing his hands frequently.”

“Too bad our apartment isn’t a hospital.” Changbin returned the pointed look Hyunjin was giving him. “Times are tough, Hyunjin-ah. There’s no guarantee our shirts will sell well forever.”

Hyunjin let out an exasperated sigh. “Hyung, please just answer my question.”

“Oh.” Changbin looked like he had genuinely forgotten. “What was it again?” Hyunjin only gave him another pointed look. He was sure Changbin was still messing around. After a second, Changbin’s face lit up, proving Hyunjin right.

“How long has it been since you guys met?” Changbin asked, taking a sip from his coffee mug and looking at Hyunjin directly.

“Around three, four months or so maybe?” Hyunjin wondered why Changbin was asking this, though he appreciated that his friend seemed have started taking him seriously now.

Changbin raised an eyebrow. “Wow. Feels like yesterday when you came back from the vet and the first thing you told me was that you met someone cute at the hospital instead of being concerned that I was dying of diarrhea.”

Hyunjin jutted out his lower lip, feeling a little embarrassed about being reminded of that. “Kinda cute but intimidating. Also, I bought electrolyte drinks and first aid meds for you, so you can’t say I wasn’t concerned.” He knew Changbin was messing with him again, but he felt the need to point that out.

Changbin chuckled, seemingly pleased at how Hyunjin reacted. “You said crabby, not intimidating. And that was the accurate word to use because he sure as hell was crabby when I met him.”

“You weren’t exactly being easy to deal with then, hyung-”

“I was only trying to be funny, it’s not my fault that that his sense of humor is practically non-existent,” Changbin defended himself. “And besides, whose idea was it to drag me to the vet so I could meet his cute crush?”

Hyunjin felt his face warm up. It wasn’t like both of them didn’t know this already but to have that detail recounted in front of him out loud was a little embarrassing. “He has a sense of humor, a good one, you’re just too busy insulting him to notice.”

“I only return the favor. He always starts it.” Changbin leaned forward and narrowed his eyes at Hyunjin. “Or wait, you thought overgrown infant rat was funny, didn’t you?” He slowly shook his head and turned his gaze away. “We’ve been friends since my face was much shorter, Hwang Hyunjin. I feel absolutely betrayed.”

“I thought you liked it?”

Changbin shrugged and leaned back into his chair. “Well, it’s creative and descriptive, but a mouthful to say and shortening it to ‘rat’ isn’t really catchy.”

Hyunjin let out an exasperated sigh, one that had a soft laugh echoing within it. Changbin could be incredibly infuriating sometimes, but his best friend just seemed to have a talent at making Hyunjin laugh. “You offered to buy him and his friends drinks anyway,” Hyunjin pointed out right after, still. “You weren’t really offended.”

“Only so you could spend more time with your crush.” Changbin wiggled his eyebrows and gave Hyunjin a cheeky grin. “It worked, right? You got his number and all, even?” 

Hyunjin closed his eyes and let out a resigned sigh this time. “Yes.”

“Best wingman ever, or best wingman ever?”

“I’m not disagreeing with you, hyung,” Hyunjin spoke, unable to help but smile now. “Thank you for everything.” The smile he gave Changbin was quick to disappear, however. “But why are you bringing this all up?”

Changbin put his spoon down and reached out to pat Hyunjin on the shoulder. “The point is, dearest best friend of my life, why are you asking me at this point in your… uh, whatever you have with him, for permission if you can text him that you miss him? I’m obviously not gonna say no because I even helped you get his number. I mean, I can’t even say no because -” With this, Changbin pulled his hand away and idly mixed the contents of his rice bowl. “- Isn’t that, kinda like, you know, up to you?”

Hyunjin frowned. Changbin was, of course, right, but there were a few things he was worried about. “Isn’t it too soon, though? Like, we’ve only been hanging out for a couple of months and he’s only been gone five days.” He paused to take a sip from his own mug of coffee, which he had forgotten about until now. “Am I not being too clingy?”

Changbin seemed to ignore what he said. “Do you miss him?”

“Yes.”

“Then there you have your answer,” Changbin replied nonchalantly, shrugging, while making another attempt to finish his food.

Hyunjin blinked at Changbin, unsure of what exactly he meant. “You mean, yes, I am being too clingy? Or, yes, it’s too soon?”

Changbin’s spoon was halfway between the bowl and his mouth when something seemed to catch his eye. He reached across the table and grabbed the bottle of parmesan cheese. “Do you think a bit of parmesan cheese on this would help?” Without waiting for Hyunjin’s answer, though, he twisted the bottle cap and dispensed some of its contents over his breakfast.

“Check the expiry date, hyung,” Hyunjin warned him, remembering how he had bad diarrhea a few months ago from eating expired salad. Changbin did as he was told, and soon enough he was looking at the bottle wide-eyed. The older male hastily set it aside.

“Hyung…” At the back of his mind, Hyunjin wondered why Changbin was being extra difficult that morning. He usually wouldn’t mess around with Hyunjin this much.

Changbin sighed and pushed his bowl of food aside and instead picked up his mug of coffee from the table. “Yes, as in yes, tell him you miss him.” He paused to take a sip, then looked straight at Hyunjin. “It’s not a matter of how long it’s been. It’s about how you feel, and you obviously already feel a lot. Just text him whatever it is you wanna say to him, and see how he takes to it. If you’re nervous add, like maybe, three to five laughing emojis or something. Or six.”

Hyunjin tried to roll his eyes at Changbin, only to end up failing at holding back his own laughter. “Well, you have a point...” he said with a small sigh. The more sensible part of Changbin’s advice was already settling into the back of his mind. He was right, it wasn’t like Seungmin was going to be driven away by a small ‘I miss you.’ He felt silly about how much he had worried about it and thought he owed Changbin for having dispensed advice no matter how trivial the matter seemed now. 

“I always look cool.” Changbin gave Hyunjin an exaggerated wink, the one he could guess was Changbin’s “cute” variant of it, then stood up from his seat, with his bowl in hand. He walked over to the waste bin and emptied the contents of his bowl into it. “Why isn’t he your boyfriend yet anyway? You like him a lot and the feeling seems mutual.”

“Do you think so, hyung?” Hyunjin straightened up in his seat, and forgot entirely to be upset that he had to eat an entire bowl of crap while Changbin got to chuck his half-eaten abomination into the trash. “Do you think he likes me?”

Changbin turned around to give Hyunjin a pointed look. “He’s here practically everyday. And when he’s not, you two are out somewhere on a date. I mean, he has to like you to a certain extent to be spending that much time with you.”

“Not everyday- What if he only likes me as a friend?” Hyunjin blinked as he let out one of the questions he’d been harboring for a while now.

“With the way you two were seated in the sofa the last time he was here?” Changbin raised an eyebrow at Hyunjin, then deposited his used bowl into the sink. “You better check if he sits on the sofa with his other friends like that.”

Hyunjin felt his cheeks warm up, remembering exactly what Changbin meant. On one of their many long conversations, Seungmin and Hyunjin found out they both liked romance films, something they were both a little embarrassed to admit to most of their acquaintances. They eventually listed down every romance film they wanted to see but couldn’t watch with others, and decided they’d watch them together over the winter break. 

They spent the entire day before Seungmin’s flight out to cross off a good number of movies from their to-watch list. Changbin entered the apartment while they were on a particularly slow film. It was shortly after dark then, and the apartment had gotten cold. Hyunjin offered to get up to adjust the heating, but Seungmin insisted that the fluffy blanket lying on the floor within his arm’s reach was enough, and draped it over the both of them. Seungmin then curled up beside him to get his whole body underneath the blanket and pressed close against Hyunjin, who absentmindedly draped an arm around him.

As soon as Changbin saw them, he kindly pointed out how cozy they looked. Seungmin had ignored him, but it was the prompt Hyunjin needed to turn the heating up.

“It was cold…” was all Hyunjin could mumble in response.

“We’ve already paid for heating this month, I can’t understand why you didn’t use it?” Changbin asked as he picked up his mug to sip on the remaining coffee. “Were you worried about the environment?”

“Hyung--”

“Not that there’s any rush, but what’s stopping you guys?” Changbin looked at him, brows knitted together and lips pressed into a straight line. It was probably the first time he was entirely serious that morning. He looked worried, he probably knew how hard Hyunjin had been thinking about this matter for a while now. Seungmin going away for vacation only made things worse.

Hyunjin sighed. “I mean… he’s not the outwardly affectionate type, he hardly ever says anything, but he does things that I think are nice… just that I can never tell why he does them. Does he do those things on purpose because he likes me? Or does he do those things merely out of coincidence? I need to read between the lines and that’s kinda hard.” The couch incident was just one of many vague displays of affection Seungmin showed towards him that he wasn’t sure what to make of. 

Changbin jutted out his lower lip, looking unconvinced. “The problem might be you read too much, actually. Or you read when you don’t even need to read at all.”

“Do I?” Hyunjin turned his head sharply towards where Changbin was standing and frowned.

“Think about it,” Changbin told him in an unusually soft voice, only to look horrified a split-second later. “No, don’t think about it. Stop thinking, Hyunjin, please. You’re overdoing it.”

Hyunjin gave Changbin a pointed look.

“Just ask him straight out, Hyunjin,” Changbin told him. “I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“I’ll find out he’s not interested in me the same way I’m interested in him?” The frown on his face deepened. The thought that Seungmin felt differently from the way Hyunjin felt towards him, he learned, was incredibly, incredibly sad. “At the same time, would it be really important to make it official if we’re like fine with how things are anyway?”

Changbin shrugged. “Anything ambiguous drives you mad, my friend. Unless things are spelled out clearly for you, you’ll keep thinking to yourself what this or that means. Oh, Seungmin blinked, does that mean he hates me or he likes me?”

Hyunjin wasn’t sure what to answer to that. Changbin knew him like he knew the back of his hand and was entirely correct about him, up to the point that Hyunjin could concede that Changbin wasn’t even exaggerating about the blinking part.

When Changbin seemed to realize Hyunjin was quietly agreeing with him, he went on. “You better clear things up with him. I think you’re much worse off now than if you get dumped or something.” 

Hyunjin winced at Changbin putting it that way, but he knew his best friend was right. “Maybe. I’ll ask him when he gets back...” He then turned his gaze towards his empty bowl. 

“Not a bad idea. Maybe you can use the time he’s not here to clear your head up a bit, too.”

Hyunjin only nodded, wondering how he could actually do that. He liked what he and Seungmin had at the moment a lot, maybe too much that he worried asking the wrong questions could change everything for the worse. Instead of voicing that concern out loud, though, he just sighed and thought of moving on to another topic instead. Changbin was his best friend, but he thought he’d burdened Changbin enough that morning. He also realized he sometimes forgot to check on him in return. It had been a while indeed since Changbin mentioned anything he was having trouble with. 

Hyunjin straightened up in his seat and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the tabletop. “By the way, how’s Chaeyoung-noona?”

Changbin suddenly turned away then walked away from Hyunjin and the kitchen. “That’s a funny joke, good one,” Changbin said in a feigned, affectionate tone.

“Shit, did something happen again?” Hyunjin asked, feeling a bit of panic. This didn't come as much of a surprise. There was always trouble between Changbin and his on-and-off girlfriend, but he felt worried about Changbin anyway. Hyunjin wasn't the only one in their apartment with an unclear relationship status. “Do you wanna talk about it, hyung?” he asked.

His sympathetic offer seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, however. Changbin only entered the shower and slammed the door behind him in response. 

“By the way, I’m picking up Jeongin from the train station today!” Hyunjin called out after him. “Just reminding you that you agreed to letting him take the third room!”

“Great! More people to insult me from within my own apartment!” was all Changbin yelled from inside the shower. 

\---

hwhj0320 (09:32): i’m heading out to pick him up from the train station actually  
hhwj0320 (09:32): i can’t wait for you guys to meet  
hhwj0320 (09:32): i think you’ll like him  
hhwj0320 (09:33): shit it’s like 3AM over there right?  
hhwj0320 (09:33): sleep well!  
hhwj0320 (09:34): This message has been deleted.  
hhwj0320 (09:34): This message has been deleted.  
ks2ungmin (09:35): yeah 3:30AM or something  
ks2ungmin (09:35): what wasthat you deleted?  
hhwj0320 (09:35): oh wow you’re awake  
hhwj0320 (09:35): sorry did i wake you up?  
hhwj0320 (09:36): it was something for changbin-hyung  
ks2ungmin (09:36): how dare you mistake me for changbin-hyung  
ks2ungmin (09:36): and nah it’s fine i csn’t slewp haha  
hhwj0320 (09:37): oh no why?  
hhwj0320 (09:37): and wow you call him changbin-hyung now  
hhwj0320 (09:37): that’s an upgrade from rat  
ks2ungmin (09:42): still a little jetlagged i guwss  
ks2ungmin (09:42): and doing somwthinking  
ks2ungmin (09:42): oh shpuld i go bsck to callign hinn rat?  
hhwj0320 (09:43): haha what are you thinking about  
hhwj0320 (09:43): just calling him changbin-hyung is fine ^^;;;  
ks2ungmin (09:45): hwoto make suer you dont win against meagain  
ks2ungmin (09:45): and that movei we werent able to wtachbefroeileft  
hhwj0320 (09:45): we’ll watch it when you get back  
hhwj0320 (09:46): and i’ll have jeongin to practice with while you’re away  
hhwj0320 (09:46): think harder ^^  
ks2ungmin (09:50): dman it  
ks2ungmin (09:50): is tuor csuoniayngppd  
hhwj0320 (09:50): go to sleep ^^  
hhwj0320 (09:55): anyway i miss you  
hhwj0320 (09:58): ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ  
hhwj0320 (09:59): ㅋ

\---

They first agreed to see each other over drinks, soon after Seungmin had his last final for the semester, and Hyunjin had facilitated the printing of a huge batch of shirts that should allow them to accommodate all orders that will come in until the end of winter. Seungmin picked a place that was smaller, quieter restaurant than the one they had gone to before, but still within a few blocks from the teaching hospital, and thus, just a short walk from Hyunjin and Changbin’s place. They arrived within minutes of each other, and Hyunjin thought it was a sign that the rest of the night would turn out well. They greeted each other with a nod, and were escorted to a table for two in a quiet corner of the restaurant. A waitress quickly swooped in to take their orders, leaving the two of them little room to talk until she finished.

As soon as they finished ordering their drinks, though, the air turned awkward. Hyunjin became overly self-conscious about the fact that it was technically, a date. It was unlike their previous encounter where they got stuck with each other for a while because they both happened to have gotten early to the dinner venue. Back then, Hyunjin just thought small talk wouldn’t be a bad idea, and their conversation flowed naturally after that. This time, though, he felt pressured to come up with something exciting to say, or to just be a cool person to hang out with in general. He reminded himself that it wasn’t him who asked to hang out this time, and he shouldn’t feel so self-conscious, but there was no helping him.

The pressure only caused his mind to blank out when he tried to come up with something to open a conversation with. Seungmin stared at him blankly, and Hyunjin took it as Seungmin waiting for him to say something. 

Hyunjin chuckled nervously. “Uhm…” 

“I-- how’s Kkami?” 

Hyunjin blinked at Seungmin, surprised that Seungmin beat him to starting something. He thought it was strange that Seungmin asked after the dog rather than Hyunjin himself, but then, Seungmin was an intern at a veterinary teaching hospital after all. He would naturally be interested in the dog.

“Doing great,” Hyunjin answered with a soft chuckle. “He seems extra cheerful lately, maybe because I’ve been staying home more.”

“Ah, that’s good,” was all Seungmin replied with, with what registered to Hyunjin as an uneasy chuckle.

Before the air could turn awkward again, Hyunjin scrambled to say something, and forced himself to stop thinking about what impression he could be giving with his choice of topic. “Uh, that text? To check on Kkami? Do you guys really do that?” Kkami had gone through a number of veterinarians, and truthfully, not one of them sent a text seemingly out of the blue just to check on the dog's condition.

Seungmin turned his gaze away, with Hyunjin noticing his cheeks turn a light shade of pink. That was enough to make him laugh softly.

“No, actually.” Seungmin replied flatly, seemingly unable to look straight at Hyunjin as he said that.

Hyunjin waited for an entire second, until he realized Seungmin wasn’t going to elaborate further. Truthfully, he guessed it, and Seungmin implied it as well, but he wanted to make sure. “Ah, it was nice, though.”

“I guess I can suggest to the hospital admin to make it a regular thing…” Seungmin trailed off and turned his gaze towards the drinks being laid on their table.

“Oh-” Hyunjin hadn't meant exactly the text to check on Kkami, though he did appreciate it. “I mean, that you texted at all,” he chuckled. “I didn't expect that.”

It was Seungmin's turn to go, “Oh.” He let out an uneasy chuckle. The waitress returned right then to deliver their orders, and both of them quietly watched her lay the plate of cheesy fries and cans of beer in front of them. As soon as she turned around to leave, however, the air felt heavy again.

Hyunjin realized that perhaps Seungmin didn't want to talk about the text and he felt it was his fault that things were not getting any easier. “What I meant was just I'm glad you texted, that’s all. Anyway, how's your break going?” He nervously took a sip from his drink, hoping the alcohol could help, while wondering why he didn’t ask that right away instead.

“I’ve mostly been sleeping,” Seungmin chuckled, looking visibly relieved Hyunjin had decided to change the topic. “I’ve been playing this game, too, but it’s nothing too exciting, honestly. How about you?” 

Hyunjin watched him take a sip from his own drink before answering with a small laugh. “Exactly the same,” he answered, wondering if Seungmin thought he was just mimicking. It was the truth, though. They had enough shirts printed out to accommodate their projected orders until the end of winter. Most of the work he had to do was just to ship the shirts out whenever there was an order until Changbin came up with designs for the spring.

“Hah. What game have you been playing?” Seungmin asked, taking a fry out of the plate in front of them and eating the entirety of it in one bite. 

Hyunjin noticed how slowly he chewed on the piece, before he gave Seungmin the name of the game.

Immediately, Seungmin’s face lit up. He placed a hand over his mouth as he continued to chew, but didn’t speak until he had swallowed the piece down. “That’s what I’ve been playing, too!” he finally replied. Hyunjin realized that this was the first time he’d heard Seungmin sound even remotely excited, and he couldn’t help but feel that way, too.

“Oh? How are you finding it? The reviews were so good,” he asked Seungmin with a small laugh.

Seungmin’s excitement seemed to diffuse in an instant. It seemed his enthusiasm was more about the coincidence than the game itself. “A little boring, actually. It is, isn’t it?”

Hyunjin laughed in response as he took a fry, then nodded his head. “Yeah. It’s a lot better in two-player mode, though.”

Seungmin wrinkled his nose and looked at Hyunjin curiously, his head tilted a little to the side. “Jisung said the same thing, but I assumed he only said that so I’d let him come over and play. How is it different?”

“You don’t want to try the two-player mode with him?” Hyunjin laughed then chewed on the fry. 

Seungmin shook his head. “We’re both horrible losers, so I just avoid playing against him in any sort of game altogether, not even board games.” He spoke nonchalantly as he picked up another fry off the plate.

Hyunjin blinked at Seungmin in disbelief. “You? A horrible loser?” The statement didn’t seem to be in agreement with the kind of person Hyunjin had made Seungmin out to be so far. Hyunjin had seen Seungmin lose his temper in a couple of encounters, but barring those instances, he appeared to Hyunjin as someone open-minded and mature. Hyunjin was impressed by the way Seungmin spoke and carried himself, as well. Those were some of the other’s traits that he found attractive from the get-go.

In response, Seungmin took a huge gulp of his drink and shrugged. “That’s what my friends say.”

Hyunjin wrinkled his nose. “I can’t imagine. Do you believe them?”

It took Seungmin a while to respond. He trained his eyes on the plate of fries for a while before picking another piece up and shrugging lightly. “I want to say no, but that would be a lie.” He pressed his lips tightly together afterwards, then looked off briefly. It didn’t seem like something he was proud of, and there was something about the way he looked embarrassed that made the edges of Hyunjin’s lips curl up. “Or maybe I just play with the wrong people.”

Hyunjin raised his right hand. “Try me,” he offered with a huge grin.

Hyunjin’s offer seemed to have gotten Seungmin to straighten up in his seat and to look at him quizzically. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, as if he needed to see Hyunjin more clearly.

Hyunjin straightened up in his seat as well, suddenly feeling self-conscious with the way Seungmin looked at him. “Maybe I’m not one of the wrong people?” he asked as he drew quotation marks in the air. He wondered at the back of his mind, though, if he was indeed the same kind of loser Seungmin described himself as. When it came to video games, at least, he wasn’t that bad, and he didn’t really play to win all the time. Maybe a few years ago he took video games way too seriously, but he had managed to cross off at least that in the long list of things Changbin said he took too seriously.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Seungmin spoke, looking directly at Hyunjin.

“I agree.” Hyunjin opened his mouth to suggest that they go to his place, thinking right away that they could play the game they had just talked about. It was also only a ten-minute walk from where they were. It quickly occurred to him, however, that that could come across as too forward, and he shot the idea down in his head. When he first asked Seungmin if they could hang out, he chalked up the rejection that followed to having been too forward, so he decided he should be careful. “Should we find an arcade nearby? Or a board game cafe?”

Seungmin frowned and wrinkled his nose. “There’s this cafe, near the train station, that kinda has both. They even have a billiard table. You just pay ₩6,000 per person and you can play any game there for ninety minutes.” 

Hyunjin raised both his eyebrows. “Oh, let’s go there?” He then took the last fry on the plate and downed the remnants of his drink. There was still plenty left, and he had to blink several times to recover from the sudden rush of alcohol.

Seungmin looked at him hesitantly, very slowly laying down his can of beer on the table. “You mean, now?”

“Ah, well,” Hyunjin chuckled, realizing that he was the only one who thought that and scratched the back of his head. He must have looked funny, if not stupid, for assuming they would go right then.. “Not really… We could go anytime.”

To Hyunjin’s surprise, though, Seungmin picked up his own drink and downed the contents just he had done so seconds ago. “Yeah, let’s go now,” he spoke as he winced afterwards. He then stood up from his seat, after which Hyunjin quickly followed suit. 

After settling their bill, which didn’t amount to much since they didn’t stay there long, they headed out into the street. They walked in step with each other, though there was a pretty considerable distance between them. Seungmin went quiet again as soon as they went outdoors. The streets were noisy, so any kind of conversation would be difficult to make. The air was terribly cold, as well, and likely pulled down Seungmin's mood as it did with Hyunjin's. 

They made it to the place in roughly ten minutes. It was located a block away from the subway station, in a not exactly quiet corner of the street. The place’s signage was hardly discernible amidst the bright neon signs and the stream of pedestrians passing by. Most of the people in the area were around their age, a lot of them celebrating the end of what was probably another difficult semester. Seungmin led the way in.

The cafe itself, was a surprise. All its walls and high ceilings were painted black, but adorned by all sorts of decorations that didn’t seem to follow a single theme. It was early in the winter, so there were rows of artificial white pine branches hanging from the ceiling, with Christmas lights of different shapes and sizes in between them. Stuck on the walls were brightly colored pieces of paper with the menu, WiFi details, and rules on the usage of the cafe’s facilities. At the center stood a billiard table, and beside it, a tiny tent on which a sign indicated that there was an ice hockey table inside. In another corner were a couple of arcade game machines, each occupied by a player who didn’t even seem to notice that Hyunjin was watching them.

The high ceilings allowed for the cafe to have two storeys of small rooms that could seem to fit four to five people on either side, with a brightly-lit hanging bridge in the middle that would allow visitors on the second storey to cross. It was filled with people wanting to have their photos taken. Hyunjin worried it would give way within the next five seconds, but no one else inside seemed to share his concern. Everyone seemed busy with a game within their own rooms, filling the air with a warm buzzing sound punctuated occasionally with loud laughter or a pained groan. Someone wasn’t very pleased about losing a game, it seemed.

While Hyunjin was admiring the place, he didn’t realize that Seungmin had gone to the reception area to secure themselves a room. Before he knew it, Seungmin was tapping his shoulder from behind, with a box in hand.

“They only have one room left,” Seungmin said, his voice barely floating above the voices of everyone else inside the cafe. “And all games are taken except for this.” He held up a box labeled ‘Penguin Trap’, which was instantly familiar to Hyunjin. 

“Oh, hey, I’ve played that before!” Hyunjin exclaimed, grinning. “I like it!”

“Yeah, me, too. I think it’s kinda boring, but I guess we can play this while waiting for some other game to free up?” Seungmin suggested as he looked around and winced. “Damn, it wasn’t this crowded when I last came here.” He almost sounded apologetic.

Hyunjin only shrugged and smiled. “Well, at least we got a room, right?”

The cafe attendant led them to their room, located on the second storey on the right side. They climbed up a small, wooden ladder that Hyunjin thought would give way under his weight. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief when they were finally inside the room with just the two of them. There were no chairs, only a bunch of pillows on the floor and a low, round table at the center. Seungmin wasted no time in taking his seat and unboxing and assembling the game. They only had ninety minutes, after all.

Hyunjin sat across Seungmin and helped him put the game together. It wasn’t long until they had set up the platform for the toy penguin to stand on and they were both holding a toy hammer in their hands. Seungmin pushed the spinner towards Hyunjin, gesturing for him to go first.

“Me?” Hyunjin pointed the hammer to himself, while he wondered why Seungmin offered the first turn to him.

Seungmin only nodded and looked directly at Hyunjin with a stare Hyunjin couldn’t discern the meaning of. Was Seungmin being polite in offering the first turn? Or was it a strategy? Hyunjin then decided to refuse.

“No, you go first,” Hyunjin laughed, pushing the dial across the table back towards Seungmin.

Seungmin turned his gaze from Hyunjin towards the dial, then reached out to grab it from Hyunjin. “Suit yourself.”

Hyunjin found Seungmin’s response highly amusing that he let out a loud laugh. He was quick to quiet down when Seungmin just shrugged and spun the dial, which eventually declared Seungmin could pick any block to knock off with the toy hammer.

Seungmin went quiet, locking his eyes on the game, and seemingly analyzing which block to best knock off. Hyunjin watched him, amused at how seriously he seemed to be taking it, and let Seungmin take his time. He wasn't sure what was Seungmin taking so long for, though. He never thought Penguin Trap needed that much analysis and strategizing, especially when they were only on their very first turn.

After looking the game over a few times, Seungmin knocked off a block at the edge of the platform nearest to him. Hyunjin tried to figure out what took Seungmin so long, when he would have chosen a similarly placed block without thinking. Seungmin then pushed the dial towards him.

The dial declared Hyunjin could skip his turn, thus lessening his chances of being the one to lose. With a playful grin, he pushed the dial back towards Seungmin, whose expression had turned cold. It reminded Hyunjin of the time he had brought Changbin with him to the teaching hospital. He didn’t feel intimidated this time, though. Perhaps it was the room’s warm lighting, the beer he chugged down hurriedly earlier, or knowing that he knew Seungmin a little better now than before and it was just the two of them inside the tiny room, but Hyunjin couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“What’s so funny?” Seungmin asked him, frowning.

“You don’t look too happy,” Hyunjin replied as he laughed some more.

“Ha. Ha. Ha.” That was all Seungmin said through gritted teeth as he looked the game over again to look for a block to knock off: a white one, as the dial specified. As he did in his previous turn, Seungmin took his time in selecting which block to attempt to dislodge. 

Hyunjin watched Seungmin again, realizing it was hard to take his eyes off of the sight of the other looking so focused and serious about a board game. 

Cute.

He blinked several times, and decided maybe a bit of conversation could keep him from staring too much. A part of him also thought it would be fun to try to distract Seungmin from the game. He leant back into the wall of the room behind him.

“Did finals go well, by the way?” Hyunjin asked, then taking a sip out of the free mug of coffee they had been given.

Seungmin kept his gaze on the game and replied with a flat tone. “It was terrible. Worst finals ever.”

“Are you worried about your grades?” Hyunjin asked, with the laughter in his voice fading. He felt genuinely concerned that Seungmin was having trouble in school.

To his relief, Seungmin was quick to shake his head. “It’s fine, I just wasn’t able to study for it like usual.” To Hyunjin’s surprise, Seungmin suddenly started to tap with his hammer one of the blocks near the edge of the board. It seemed he had selected a block more quickly this time. Seungmin inched away from the table and handed the dial back to Hyunjin.

Hyunjin started his turn, and this time, the dial pointed to indicate that he should take down a blue block. He looked up at Seungmin and saw the other looking rather pleased.

“Don’t start celebrating just yet,” Hyunjin warned playfully as he looked the game over. He tried to think of a strategy he could formulate, just like what Seungmin seemed to be doing. Perhaps, it was important to think about how the next block he’d choose to dislodge would affect Seungmin’s turn.

It wasn’t until Seungmin spoke up all of a sudden that he realized how long he had been taking. 

“You’re… done with school, right?” Hyunjin looked up and found Seungmin leaning against the wall, looking directly at him with a curious look. He pressed his lips into a small smile, thinking it was nice to know Seungmin was interested in those things about him, then quickly turned his gaze back to the game.

“Yep! I finished business at Kookmin last year.” Unsurprisingly, Hyunjin could no longer remember what kind of strategy he had been thinking about just moments before. He frowned as he looked the board over again.

“You must have done well in school, because you’re running your own business now,” Seungmin responded, just as Hyunjin was about to try to gather what remained of his strategy in his head. The trace of a smile in Seungmin’s voice, though, was more than enough to send those remnants flying out of Hyunjin’s head.

“Ah. Not really.” Hyunjin looked up from the game again, unable to help but smile widely at what he perceived to be a compliment from Seungmin. “I was a pretty average student, honestly.”

“You must be a natural at this business thing, then.” 

The trace of a smile was still there, and Hyunjin couldn’t help but think of how nicely Seungmin’s warm and clear voice bounced off the wooden walls of the tiny room. He managed to shake his head and laugh softly. “It was probably more about luck than anything else. And Changbin-hyung, maybe.”

Hyunjin wasn’t sure if he merely imagined it, but he saw a frown flash briefly on Seungmin’s face. 

“Did… I say something…?”

Seungmin shook his head, though the look on his face remained blank. “Changbin is…? I mean, I know who he is, but is he like… your friend… or something?” 

Towards the end of his sentence, Seungmin seemed to start mumbling, which Hyunjin thought was strange, just as strange as his question itself was. He was pretty sure he’d mentioned to Seungmin before that Changbin was his childhood friend, but maybe Seungmin had forgotten. “Yeah, he’s my best friend. We’ve known each other since we were in diapers, or in his words, since his face was much shorter,” Hyunjin laughed, and hoped Seungmin would laugh as well. “Along with Chaeyoung-noona.”

Instead, Seungmin raised an eyebrow at him. Hyunjin didn’t understand why so he only frowned in return.

“Is anything wrong…?” Hyunjin couldn’t help but ask.

Seungmin suddenly pressed his lips into a thin smile and shook his head. “No, no, you guys just looked really close, that’s all. And who’s Chaeyoung-noona? Her name sounds familiar.”

“Ah! Right, you’d already left when she joined us that night!” Hyunjin trailed off, remembering how Seungmin abruptly left while they were having drinks with his friends and Changbin a few weeks ago. Hyunjin still wanted to know the real reason for that. Minho, one of Seungmin’s friends who had been there, implied that Seungmin’s excuse to leave early back then had been a lie. He didn’t think tonight would be a good time to bring that up, though, and decided to just answer Seungmin’s question. “She’s Changbin-hyung’s girlfriend. Now.”

“Oh.” Seungmin’s voice sounded unusually high-pitched.

Hyunjin grinned as he put his mug of coffee back down on the table. “You should meet her. She’s really cool.”

“Looking forward to it,” was all Seungmin said, flashing a smile that reached up to his eyes this time. “Oh, it’s still your turn, by the way.”

It was only then that Hyunjin realized he was still holding a plastic hammer in his hand. “Crap, sorry.” He looked the game over again, then decided to just knock off the blue block closest to the edge without much thought. 

\---

The tables turned as the game went on, with the dial seeming to start favoring Seungmin. For four straight turns, it declared that Seungmin could skip, leaving Hyunjin to labor over which blocks would be best to knock off in order to keep the toy penguin standing at the center. Seungmin’s mood seemed to have changed greatly as well. It was the first time Hyunjin saw Seungmin looking so pleased since they met. His eyes curved into bright half-moons, while his mouth formed a wide open-mouthed smile. He was almost nothing like the crabby intern that snapped at Hyunjin for asking questions about where to source Kkami’s drinking water. Hyunjin was reminded more instead of one of his kid cousins in Busan when their mother would allow them to skip on eating their veggies. And of Kkami whenever Hyunjin announced it was time for his dog treats.

Seungmin had a warm, endearing smile, and a distracting one. After the fourth time Seungmin skipped his turn, Hyunjin decided to throw all pretenses of a strategy out the window and knocked off the first block his hammer came in contact with. The toy penguin quivered at the center as a result, but the blocks that it stood on stayed intact, much to Hyunjin’s relief.

“That was close,” Seungmin remarked with a gleeful chuckle as he took the dial from Hyunjin. 

The dial decided it was time for Seungmin to actually play and he needed to knock off a white block.

“Oh, f--”

“Finally!” Hyunjin exclaimed, barely able to stop himself from banging his hand against the table in excitement. There were hardly any blocks left that it seemed like any sudden movement could end the game. “You didn’t think you’d stay lucky for that long, did you?” Hyunjin leaned in and grinned at Seungmin teasingly.

Seungmin inched back, his distracting smile from earlier vanishing into thin air. His lips formed a straight line this time and his eyes seemed to shoot daggers right at Hyunjin. “I know what to do, shut up.”

Hyunjin leant back, shrugging exaggeratedly as he did so. “Okay, sure,” he taunted, and failed at keeping himself from laughing. He then watched Seungmin try to decide which of the few remaining blocks to knock off. It seemed as if any choice would end the game. Hyunjin surely was glad it wasn’t his turn.

It didn’t take much long until Seungmin raised his hammer above the remaining block furthest from the penguin. Hyunjin winced as he watched Seungmin try to knock it off, tapping on lightly with the hammer several times. The block gradually sank down, seemingly without taking the adjacent ones with it.

“No…” Hyunjin found himself mumbling, dreading the thought that he’ll still get to have another turn. Just as he was about to lean forward in anticipation, though, the rest of the blocks fell through. The sound of the plastic blocks crashing against the table’s wooden surface filled the room.

“Yes!” Hyunjin clapped his hands at his little victory. “Oh god, I thought you were gonna--” Halfway through his sentence he turned his gaze towards Seungmin, and found the other staring emptily at the collapsed game. He looked so upset, Hyunjin wasn’t sure whether to feel sorry or to laugh out loud.

“This game sucks,” Seungmin declared flatly, before starting to collect the fallen blocks and shoving them back into the box. “Didn’t we say we’re gonna check if other games have freed up after this?”

Hyunjin pressed his lips tightly together as he watched, but it didn’t take long for a loud snort to escape through his nose. “Weren’t you the one practically jumping in your seat earlier?” he playfully accused as he let go and laughed out loud.

Seungmin kept on his empty look and continued to clean up, which made only made Hyunjin want to laugh some more. He held it in, though. As funny as it was, Seungmin looked legitimately pissed. He was going to save teasing him for when he’d be in a better mood later. At least, he understood now what Seungmin meant when people called him a horrible loser. He thought it was endearing, though, and it made Hyunjin realize that Seungmin was indeed a person he could become close with, rather than someone he’d just be admiring from afar.

\---

It wasn’t until a cafe attendant tapped Hyunjin on the shoulder and informed him that the place was closing in fifteen minutes that the two of them decided to go home. They had just ended a pretty intense game of ice hockey by then, which Seungmin won. It seemed that Seungmin took his loss in Penguin Trap as motivation to do better and ended up winning almost every game afterwards. Hyunjin didn’t mind at all, he was having fun nonetheless, and seeing Seungmin grin and cheer like a kid was enough consolation. 

“We should go earlier next time,” Hyunjin said as they exited out of the building into an empty back alley, after they had settled their bill. The cold air enveloped him seemingly out of nowhere, especially when they had just come out from the cafe’s heated premises. He pulled at his scarf to wrap it more tightly, though it didn’t help much. “Sorry, it seems I’m one of the wrong people.”

Beside him, Seungmin shoved his hands into his pockets then looked up at him, frowning. “What do you mean?”

Hyunjin laughed. He thought Seungmin would remember what he had said earlier when they were still at the restaurant. “You said earlier that you weren’t a horrible loser, you just play with the wrong people. And the reason we went here in the first place was to see if I was one of them.”

The look on Seungmin’s face hardened, which worried Hyunjin that he picked the wrong moment to tease, but no sooner than later did Seungmin start shaking his head, and laughed softly.

“I lied about playing with the wrong people. I just am a horrible loser.” Seungmin wrinkled his nose and jutted out his lower lips after making the admission. “I’m trying---”

“A cute loser, not a horrible one,” Hyunjin found himself interrupting Seungmin before he could finish. He immediately wondered if he should have said that, but Seungmin’s reaction told him it was okay. The other’s eyes darted away, but his lips were pressed into a small smile, and went quiet for a few good seconds.

“No, don’t say that… You make it seem like being a sore loser is okay. It’s not, I know it’s not,” Seungmin said, his tone firm but seemingly laced with playfulness. “Anyway, wanna go for dinner?”

The invite surprised Hyunjin. He pretty much thought the night was done, though he really had been hoping that wasn’t the case. He felt far from tired despite all the games they’d played in the cafe, and he realized he was starving as well. They had been so caught up with playing that they forgot to order any food. From what he could remember, though, Seungmin would need to take a bus to get home, and he wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to hold the other up from going home. “Don’t you have a bus to catch around this time?” Hyunjin asked him, frowning slightly. 

Seungmin shook his head and walked a few steps to the center of the alley to lead the way. “I can catch a cab, at worst. I don’t live too far from here, anyway.” 

“Cool, let’s go.” Hyunjin nodded with a grin, caught up with Seungmin and walked closely beside him. Seungmin began to talk about a place that served really great lamb skewers, and how he’d usually eat there with his friends right after finals to celebrate when they’re too tired to drink. He started recounting a story about Jisung eating too much and throwing up so badly that Minho had to help him get home. 

Hyunjin found the little anecdote entertaining, even if he really didn’t know Jisung that well yet. He guessed part of it was because of the mean-looking grin Seungmin had on his face while telling the story, one that prompted Hyunjin to place an arm around the other’s shoulders as they walked. Seungmin seemed to flinch as soon as he did so, but altogether, he didn't seem to mind. He only flashed Hyunjin a small smile, and went on to talk more about his past misadventures with his friends.

\----

ks2ungmin (08:32): hey  
ks2ungmin (08:32): dunno if you’re awake yet  
ks2ungmin (08:32): but are you doing something today  
ks2ungmin (08:33): like yeah maybe i should have asked you last night but  
ks2ungmin (08:33): it just came up this morning.. I guess  
hhwj0320 (08:34): hey!  
hhwj0320 (08:34): i’m not doing anything today  
hhwj0320 (08:35): whats up  
ks2ungmin (08:35): cool  
ks2ungmin (08:35): i’m getting a new camera today  
ks2ungmin (08:35): and i don’t really know anyone else who has some knowledge about cameras i could ask to go with me  
hhwj0320 (08:36): i don’t know that much… 😅  
ks2ungmin (08:36): i’m sure you know more than jisung  
ks2ungmin (08:36): he takes the most horrible pictures  
ks2ungmin (08:36): i’m not forcing you of course..  
ks2ungmin (08:37): i just thought that hey maybe you could go with me  
ks2ungmin (08:37): or something  
hhwj0320 (08:37): no, no i’d love to go with you really!  
hhwj0320 (08:37): where and when do we meet?  
ks2ungmin (08:38): uhm how about 11am? At hoehyeon station?  
hhwj0320 (08:38): sure thing  
hhwj0320 (08:38): see you! 

Hyunjin realized he’ll be seeing Seungmin again in less than three days after spending an entire evening together, consisting of a quick meal of beer and cheesy fries, hours at a board game cafe, and a couple more hours at a barbecue restaurant. He wasn’t exactly complaining, but he found it flattering that Seungmin asked to meet him again in such a short amount of time. He took it as a sign that at least, Seungmin could tolerate his company enough to invite him to go purchase a camera with him.

That was why when Hyunjin exited Hoehyeon Station at 11:01 AM, he had a wide grin on his face as soon as he saw Seungmin standing by one of the pillars directly in front of the turnstiles. 

“Seungmin-ah!” he called out as he bounded up to the other. “Have you been waiting long?”

Seungmin shook his head in response. “Don’t worry about it. I just got here a little earlier than expected.”

Hyunjin winced, realizing he’d made Seungmin wait. “Sorry.”

“I said it’s fine,” Seungmin told him with a small smile. “Come on.”

Hyunjin walked in step with Seungmin, maintaining a hand’s distance between the two of them as they weaved through the crowds to climb the stairs out of the station’s premises into the streets. It was a weekday, but he guessed with school out for university students, the area would be a little more crowded than he could remember from the last time he was here. Hyunjin wanted to make some conversation, but the cold and the bustle all around them, he imagined, would be hard to break through.

The crowd thinned out a little when they entered a small alley a few blocks away from the subway station, giving Hyunjin an opening for some talk. “You know what camera you’re getting already?” he asked.

“I have a couple of models in mind,” Seungmin answered. “I already have an entry-level DSLR, so I’m hoping to get something nicer than that.”

Hyunjin playfully raised an eyebrow at Seungmin. “You’re leveling up, huh?”

“I suppose… Thanks to you, maybe,” Seungmin chuckled and briefly looked down at the pavement.

Hyunjin wasn’t sure where that came from. He looked at Seungmin, almost incredulous. “Me?”

Seungmin only stared at him for an entire second, seemingly waiting for Hyunjin to say something. Whatever it was that Seungmin was expecting, though, couldn’t possibly come out. All Hyunjin could think of, suddenly, was how soft and gentle the stare he was getting was. 

Seungmin eventually broke the stare and shook his head. Hyunjin thought he saw a grimace flash across the other’s face, but it happened too briefly for him to be sure. This made Hyunjin worry that there was something important he was missing out on. 

“It’s nothing,” Seungmin said, though, and Hyunjin tried to dismiss what he thought he saw as maybe something he just imagined. 

Seungmin then turned his gaze away and gestured with his hand towards a store just a few meters ahead of them. “There’s the store we’re going to.” With that, he immediately stepped ahead of Hyunjin towards the store. More than needing to catch up, Hyunjin found himself distracted by the way Seungmin’s feet literally bounced off the pavement, and how his shoulders swayed from side to side as he took hold of the straps of his white backpack.

\---

By the time they sat down for lunch a few minutes before one in the afternoon at a small restaurant in the area, Seungmin had a new camera in his hands.

“You picked one so fast,” Hyunjin said as they sat down, unable to help but smile at the sight of Seungmin across the table. The other placed the camera, still in its packaging, on top of the table with an excited grin.

Seungmin looked up at him and chuckled. “Did I? Well, I’ve been researching for a while now, so… it turned out to be easier than expected.” He trailed off as he tore off the tape that secured the box’s opening.

The purchase happened quickly. As soon as they entered the store, Seungmin specified to the store clerk two different models he would like to look at. Hyunjin had a bit of familiarity with cameras; he often worked with photographer friends for shoots for their shirt business. He knew how to take a nice picture or two, to fiddle with a few of the manual controls, but he considered himself far from knowledgeable about photography. He was nervous that Seungmin would ask him something he wouldn’t know the answer to. After all, Seungmin invited him along for his knowledge about cameras, and Hyunjin would hate to disappoint.

Before Hyunjin knew it, though, Seungmin was already paying at the cashier, with the camera wrapped in its box and placed inside a paper bag printed with the store’s logo. Hyunjin could only vaguely remember Seungmin asking him about which of the two models produced more brightly-colored photos. Or something. It was generally a relief that he didn’t have a chance make a fool of himself, but he had to wonder what Seungmin asked him to come along for.

“Not sure what you needed my help for,” Hyunjin responded with a small nervous laugh while he idly sipped on the glass of soda he hard ordered.

“Oh.” Seungmin paused after that, with his eyes shifting and his lips briefly forming a straight line. “The reviews… online made the two models seem… really similar, so I figured… I could use some help picking between the two of them,” he chuckled with hesitation that Hyunjin wasn't sure what was about. “But the differences came out more obvious in the flesh. So deciding turned out to be much easier, I guess?”

“Right,” Hyunjin found himself slowly coming to think that Seungmin's answer to make perfect sense, despite the hints of hesitation it was delivered with. He appreciated that Seungmin thought he could help anyway.

“Thank you for coming along, though, and on such short notice.” Seungmin gave Hyunjin a small smile.

Seungmin’s words of gratitude came off to Hyunjin as an indication that they were going off their respective ways after having their lunch. He didn’t feel like he’d spent that much time with Seungmin that day yet, and he didn’t have anything else to do. An invite to hang out for the rest of the day seemed to be due.

“Hey, you wanna hang out after?” he asked, trying his best to sound as casual as possible. “We can test drive your new camera and all that.”

A toothy grin flashed across Seungmin’s face immediately. “Sure!”

\----

They hung out every few or so days after that. Seungmin was on winter break, and Hyunjin didn’t have much to do for the business until Changbin came out with new designs. Most of their outings consisted of eating at new restaurants within the city, but there was a time they felt adventurous enough to go as far as Paju on a whim.

Seungmin would almost always bring his new camera along, so he could practice using it in time for their family’s trip to Europe in February. At first, he took pictures of the food they ate, or the interiors of the restaurants they went to. One time, though, he snapped a photo of Hyunjin while they were waiting for the subway train to arrive on their platform. They both liked the resulting picture so much that Hyunjin posing and Seungmin taking pictures of him became a regular part of their days out together.

“You made me look good here,” Hyunjin said one time while they were going through the photos they had taken at a park just a bus ride away from Hyunjin’s apartment. They were standing close to each other underneath a bare tree, looking into the camera’s LCD screen to pick which pictures to keep.

“Shut up. You already look good to begin with,” Seungmin muttered under his breath.

Hyunjin inched back, amused at what he just heard. It was far from the first time anyone said he looked good. Truthfully, he was close to getting tired of it, if only that didn’t seem to be such an ungrateful feeling to have. It was his first time, though, to hear it from Seungmin.

“What was that…?” Hyunjin asked, unable to help himself from forming a mischievous grin on his face.

Seungmin looked up and briefly turned his gaze forward with his lips pressed tightly together, then back to the camera’s LCD screen. 

“I said, I’m deleting this,” replied Seungmin with a flat tone.

“You’re cute,” Hyunjin found himself saying fonldy at the sight of Seungmin bringing the camera LCD screen closer to his face and excessively squinting at it. He wasn’t going to pretend he said something else, though, and hoped that Seungmin heard that loud and clear.

Seungmin only remained quiet after that, and only spoke when he had finished scrolling through all the pictures they had taken so far that day. “You brought food, right?”

“Yeah, I bought a few things from the convenience store before we met earlier.” Hyunjin dug into the messenger bag he was carrying, and produced a pack of bulgogi sandwiches. He handed it to Seungmin, who received them with a surprised look on his face.

“I love these, actually. Have I told you that before..?” Seungmin blinked as he took the food from Hyunjin. 

Hyunjin shook his head. “I remembered you were buying these from the convenience store- when I bumped into you after I brought Kkami to the hospital?” He took his own set of bulgogi sandwiches out of the bag, too. 

“Wow, you remembered even that,” Seungmin laughed and gave Hyunjin a huge smile afterwards. “Thank you.”

Winter wore on, and eventually the weather became too cold for the two of them to spend entire days outside. It was a little after the new year started when Hyunjin started inviting Seungmin over to the apartment he shared with Changbin. Hyunjin worried, at first, that the invite would still come as too forward at that point, but Seungmin accepted without any perceptible hesitation. It seemed, at the very least, he shared Hyunjin’s sentiment that subzero temperatures should not stop them from spending time together.

\----

“You look like you’ve been holding your pee for three hours instead of waiting for your not-boyfriend to get here,” Jeongin told Hyunjin, with a wide, cheerful grin seemingly plastered perpetually on his face, as he made his way from his room to the kitchen. “No one’s using the toilet, hyung, feel free.”

Hyunjin groaned from the sofa and leant back, trying to appear more relaxed. His cousin’s commentary made him feel even more self-conscious than he already was. “His name is Seungmin,” was all he said, though.

“Changbin-hyung told me you say he’s your not-boyfriend,” Jeongin replied, still grinning that Hyunjin wondered for the nth time in his life if Jeongin’s facial muscles ever got tired. “What are you so anxious about anyway?”

“Jeongin-ah…” Hyunjin shifted in his seat again to have a better look at his cousin in the kitchen. “What if he’s coming over to end things with me instead?”

“What…?” Jeongin stopped halfway through opening a bag of potato chips, and his smile turned into a confused one. “What a wild imagination you have, hyung.”

“I mean, it’s been three weeks since he left for a vacation.” Hyunjin’s frown deepened. “What if he’s the out-of-sight, out-of-mind kind of person? It’s not that far-fetched-” 

Before Jeongin could answer, Changbin suddenly emerged from his own room, his hair a mess and his eyes droopier than usual. It wasn’t unusual for Changbin to wake up past noon if he had nothing to do for the day. He gave the apartment’s common area a sweeping look, then frowned at Hyunjin and Jeongin. “Why is it so clean?” 

“Hyunjin-hyung cleaned up because his not-boyfriend’s coming over,” Jeongin informed Changbin, with the usage of the word not-boyfriend to refer to Seungmin infuriating him further. “He also thinks they might break up today.” The way Jeongin said that while still smiling only made Hyunjin even more anxious.

“It’s not--”

“Oh, he’s back from Europe?” Changbin raised both eyebrows, and put on a look of what Hyunjin knew well enough as feigned surprise. “Jeongin-ah, hide the handwash. He’s gonna use all of that up as soon as he gets here.”

Jeongin was quick to do as he was told, and deposited the dispenser into the topmost cupboard. He had bought it just last night with Hyunjin from the grocery store, after all.

“Wait, kid, not where I can’t reach it,” Changbin objected and went over to Jeongin to take the hand wash back from the younger one. “Also, that was a joke. Your sarcasm meter is terrible.” 

Jeongin only continued to smile cheerfully. “Is there anywhere you can actually reach, hyung? And besides, I was the one who paid for this last night, I’m not taking chances,” he said, without much of a hint as to whether he was kidding or not, other than taking the bottle of handwash back from Changbin.

“Why did I let you live here again?” Changbin turned to Jeongin sharply with an exasperated frown.

“Because this apartment’s too big and expensive for just the two of us,” Hyunjin dryly answered for him as he checked his phone for any messages from Seungmin. He was due to arrive in a few minutes, and Seungmin was never late. If that would be the case today, though, Hyunjin would understand. Seungmin had just returned late last night from a three-week trip across the Mediterranean with his family. Hyunjin was more than excited to see him, and the feeling seemed mutual because Seungmin texted him as soon as he landed that he’d just rest a bit and head over to Hyunjin’s place right away. And despite Hyunjin insisting that he took his time to catch up on sleep, Seungmin said he’ll be fine.

“The landlady likes me,” Jeongin laughed. “And Hyunjin-hyung won’t dare leave Kkami with you again, Changbin-hyung, so he told me to stay with you guys.”

“If I didn’t feed Kkami expired salad, he wouldn’t have met Seungmin, just saying,” Changbin huffed, then went on to speak in a high-pitched voice. “As for the landlady, I can’t blame her. Our Jeonginnie is the cutest.” He reached over to pinch one of Jeongin’s cheeks. More than to show affection, it was to annoy the younger one. Jeongin hated it when anyone did that, and unsurprisingly, he inched back and swatted Changbin’s hand away immediately.

Changbin and Jeongin continued to bicker, while Hyunjin kept his eyes trained on his phone screen for any incoming notifications. His dog, Kkami, then climbed up the sofa and pressed against Hyunjin, and rested his head upon Hyunjin’s lap. It was as if the dog knew how anxious he was and actually tried to help, unlike the apartment’s two other occupants.

“Kkami-yah, you miss Seungminnie, too?” he cooed at the dog softly. The only other inhabitant of the apartment Seungmin seemed to like without any issues was Kkami, and Hyunjin knew his dog was at least happy that Seungmin was back.

In response, Kkami sharply raised his head and started to wag his tail wildly. A mere second later, the doorbell rang. Hyunjin immediately stood up from the sofa and rushed to open the door.

“Weird, I thought he’d given Seungmin the door’s pass code already,” Hyunjin heard Changbin say to Jeongin. “I guess Hyunjin still cares enough to not risk having his not-boyfriend murder me in my sleep.” 

“I’ll give the pass code to the not-boyfriend, then,” Jeongin responded gleefully while he held the bottle of soap in his hands.

“Yah! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

Ordinarily, Hyunjin would take the time to play referee between his cousin and his best friend. It had been his idea after all to have Jeongin live with them, despite knowing how he’d end up bickering with Changbin half the time. For now, though, he chose not to worry about that. Seungmin was back finally, and he was standing at the doorway, smiling softly, although a little tiredly, at Hyunjin.

“Hey,” he greeted Hyunjin in a quiet voice as he stepped inside. Hyunjin moved aside, grinning widely, to let him in, then closed the door behind Seungmin.

It had only been three weeks, but Hyunjin couldn’t fail to notice the small changes in Seungmin’s appearance. He seemed to have gotten a healthy tan, which went nicely with the shade of pink that colored his cheeks from the cold outside. His face also appeared a little fuller. The vacation seemed to have been good to him. 

Then there was also his hair. Seungmin would usually have his hair cover the entirety of his forehead, but it seemed he had applied a sort of mousse to brush some of it aside and look a little neater than usual. Hyunjin thought he looked great, and he found it even more endearing that Seungmin put forth effort. It also put to rest his fears from just a few minutes ago. Surely, Seungmin didn’t come over and try to appear more presentable than usual just to tell him he didn’t want to see Hyunjin anymore.

“You look nice,” he said quietly. It wasn’t because he didn’t want Changbin and Jeongin to hear, but he couldn’t stop smiling to speak more audibly.

Seungmin scoffed, but his the edges of his lips briefly curled up to form a smile before he spoke. “I gained weight,” he muttered, but loudly enough for Hyunjin to hear.

It was Hyunjin’s turn to scoff. “You did, but you’re cute, don’t worry.”

“Shut up--”

“Aw, Seungminnie, how I missed you!” Changbin exclaimed dramatically from the kitchen, seemingly interrupting Seungmin just in time. He waddled over to Seungmin and wrapped his arms around the taller male. Seungmin straightened up and inched backward. 

“Oh. Changbin-hyung. I missed you, too,” Seungmin replied in a robotic tone with his jaw clenched.

As Changbin pulled away, Jeongin emerged from behind him, smiling as always while he continued to hold on the bottle of liquid handwash and his bag of potato chips. “Hi, I’m Yang Jeongin,” he went ahead to introduce himself before Hyunjin could.

“Right! The cousin I’ve been telling you about,” Hyunjin laughed, feeling glad Seungmin was finally meeting his cousin.

“Hey, I’m Kim Seungmin,” he introduced himself just as politely, returning Jeongin’s wide grin with a small one of his own. “Why are you holding that…?”

Jeongin looked at his hands, and only then seemed to remember what he had been doing with Changbin before Seungmin arrived. “Changbin-hyung warned me you wash your hands too often,” he replied without batting an eyelash, much to Hyunjin’s chagrin. “I was just about to hide this when you arrived.”

Seungmin turned sharply towards Changbin and gave the older one a smile that reached nowhere near his eyes. “I’ll bring my own bottle of hand wash next time, don’t worry. Along with an entire box, so you can stick as many of them as you want down your throat.”

“Yes, please!” Jeongin piped in. “It’d save us a lot of money, actually.”

“While you’re at it, bring an entire truck of water with you as well, you can’t wash your hands with just soap,” Changbin replied with a crooked smile, and then a wink.

Hyunjin wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry, as he saw Seungmin glare at Changbin like he wanted to run the older one over with the said truck. Watching Seungmin and Changbin bicker was entertaining, but he still wished they’d get along just a little better. 

Jeongin, meanwhile howled with laughter. “Wow, Changbin-hyung had been pretty accurate about him all this time,” the younger one remarked while he clutched onto his stomach. Changbin let out a loud snort.

“What did he say about me--”

“Okay, why don’t we sit down?” Hyunjin said with forced cheeriness as he took hold of Seungmin’s wrist and led the way to the kitchen. Seungmin followed quietly, giving Changbin one last glare before he let Hyunjin take him away. Jeongin and Changbin seemed to stay behind, and settled into the couch with Jeongin’s bag of potato chips.

“You must be exhausted,” was the first thing Hyunjin said, while setting on the table a glass of water for Seungmin. “What do you wanna do today?” Hyunjin found himself asking, unsure of what sort of catching up there was to do. They’d talked constantly while Seungmin was on vacation, and occasionally even did video calls when Seungmin could get his hands on a stable internet connection. They talked about what the other did that day, and probably a million things they’d do together when Seungmin would get back, but Hyunjin wasn’t sure which among those Seungmin would want to do first. Hyunjin himself was up for anything, though he hoped Seungmin would pick something that would leave room for him to have a nice, long, proper talk.

Seungmin’s face lit up, but he chose to finish the entire glass of water Hyunjin had set for him before speaking, so it wasn’t until what felt like a few hours to Hyunjin until he answered with enthusiasm that was rare for him to have. “The game! God, I missed beating you in that.”

“What?” Hyunjin put on an awkward grin. It was hard not to smile seeing Seungmin like that, but he also tried to imagine how he’d talk to Seungmin properly if he’ll be caught up in a game, and it would be next to impossible. The only way for Seungmin to lose his focus on it was if he lost, but that would put him in a sour mood. At the same time, he couldn’t help but think about how Seungmin said he missed beating Hyunjin in a game. Throughout his time away, Seungmin talked constantly about how he missed doing things with Hyunjin rather than missing Hyunjin himself. Hyunjin didn’t want to be presumptuous to take that as Seungmin’s way of saying he missed him, or to understand it as the opposite and sulk over not being missed.

Didn’t Seungmin think of the things Hyunjin kept thinking about, too?

“Don’t tell me you aren’t ready. Didn’t you say you’d be practicing with your cousin?” Seungmin spoke in a playful tone and glared at him, taking Hyunjin out of his thoughts.

“I did. Are you ready, though? You could be pretty out of practice,” Hyunjin teased, trying to mask his anxiousness. He tried his best to put his thoughts away and remembered what Changbin said. There was no rush, really. He could just enjoy Seungmin’s first day back in Seoul and maybe talk with him about things the next day or the day after tomorrow. It couldn’t possibly hurt. Seungmin seemed so excited to be doing these things with him again after all, Hyunjin didn’t want to ruin that for him in any way.

“That means my victory will only be sweeter,” he replied with a wide grin, before downing the entire glass of water Hyunjin had set on the table for him, then stood up. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Someone’s excited to lose,” Hyunjin said as he stood up as well, and stretched his arms.

\----

ks2ungmin (01:36): hey just got home  
hhwj0320 (01:37): oh good! Were you able to catch your bus?  
ks2ungmin (01:37): haha no  
ks2ungmin (01:37): but it’s fine, i took a cab  
ks2ungmin (01:38): don’t worry about it it was my fault  
hhwj0320 (01:38): hahaha ok  
hhwj0320 (01:38): yeah you wouldn’t go home until you won against jeongin at least once  
ks2ungmin (01:39): and i did right?  
ks2ungmin (01:39): wait till i get back in shape with this  
ks2ungmin (01:39): he’ll feel sorry he ever played with me  
hhwj0320 (01:40): you’re scary  
ks2ungmin (01:40): what it’s just a game  
hhwj0320 (01:40): ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ  
ks2ungmin (01:41): what  
hhwj0320 (01:41): that’s thick coming from you ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ  
ks2ungmin (01:41): ….  
hhwj0320 (01:41): hahahahaha  
ks2ungmin (01:42): wanna go out tomorrow by the way?  
ks2ungmin (01:42): i heard the new mexican restaurant near school finally opened  
hhwj0320 (01:43): i’ve been waiting for you to come back to go there actually  
ks2ungmin (01:43): let’s go!!!! For early dinner maybe?  
hhwj0320 (01:44): ok!  
ks2ungmin (01:46): cool i’ll go to bed now then  
ks2ungmin (01:46): thanks for today  
ks2ungmin (01:48): you were a sight for sore eyes  
ks2ungmin (01:49): good night

\---

“Hi, guys! Long time no see!”

Jisung stood in front of Hyunjin and Seungmin’s table at the newest Mexican restaurant to open near Konkuk University, flashing a toothy grin at the two of them. His voice rang loud and clear across the crowded restaurant.

“What. Are. You. Doing. Here?” From across the table, Hyunjin could easily see that Seungmin was seething that Jisung popped out of nowhere. He shot a glare at the other, and spoke through gritted teeth. Hyunjin would have laughed at the sight of it all, except he had to wonder what Jisung was doing there, too. As far as he knew, the agreement to eat at the newly-opened restaurant that day was only between him and Seungmin.

“To grace you guys with my wonderful presence!” Jisung declared dramatically. “And to collect the stuff you got for me from Europe.” He chuckled loudly as he filed into the seat beside Seungmin’s. “You did get me stuff, didn’t you? I heard they have great candied treats there.”

“No.”

Seungmin’s flat and swift answer made Hyunjin chuckle. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed that Jisung was there, and then feel bad about feeling annoyed. It wasn’t because he disliked Jisung. The guy seemed fun and entertaining to have around from the few encounters they’d had. Kkami liked Jisung a lot during their visits to the teaching hospital, too, and Hyunjin trusted his dog’s judgment in people, as weird as that may seem to others. Hyunjin truly would like to be friends with Jisung, too. However, he wanted time alone with Seungmin so they could talk properly about things. 

“How did you know we were gonna be here, Jisung?” Hyunjin asked, interrupting Jisung from whatever he was about to say, and smiling as much as he can to hide any sign of how he truly felt about Jisung showing up.

“Seungmin told me you guys were gonna have early dinner here today, so I thought, hey why don’t I join my friends?” Jisung answered. “I’ve been wanting to eat here but I had no one to go with so. Here I am. You’re welcome!” He continued to grin at the two of them as if there was nothing wrong.

Truly, nothing was wrong. He also thought it was nice that Jisung considered him a friend already. Hyunjin chuckled to mask an exasperated sigh he couldn’t hold in. He wondered why Seungmin told Jisung.

“I said Hyunjin. And. I. were going,” Seungmin told him, the edge in his voice sharp enough to make Hyunjin feel afraid as well. It also told him Seungmin didn’t want Jisung there either and that felt weirdly nice. “Why don’t you go with someone else?”

The grin on Jisung’s face disappeared and Hyunjin saw a frown fall into place instead. “Minho-hyung said he’s busy. Actually, I haven’t seen him for a while now.”

The glum tone Jisung spoke in made Hyunjin feel a little sorry for him, even if he didn’t know much about Minho. Perhaps, it wouldn’t hurt to have Jisung with them, as long as he could talk to Seungmin later tonight.

“I didn’t even say you have to go with Minho-hyung, but the point stands,” Seungmin replied, and continued to glare at Jisung. 

“Why? Am I not allowed to eat here? I’m gonna pay for my own meal, just so you know,” he Jisung’s eyes then turned to the gift bag on Hyunjin’s side of the table. It contained a bottle of wine and a couple of boxes of candied treats - Seungmin’s presents for Hyunjin from his trip. “Oh, what’s that?”

Hyunjin wasn’t sure if he could tell Jisung. “Uhm…”

“None of your business,” Seungmin hissed, still unsmiling. 

Jisung looked at Seungmin indignantly. “Geez, why are you so angry? Did anyone hurt you in Europe?” He then turned to Hyunjin, slamming his fist on the tabletop. “How do you stand hanging out with him? He always acts like someone’s stepping on his foot.”

“What--?” Hyunjin couldn’t help but laugh this time and noticed Seungmin roll his eyes.

“He’s allergic to being nice, I swear,” Jisung huffed and folded his arms on the table while shooting Seungmin a glare of his own.

“And you’re allergic to using your brain,” Seungmin fired back.

“Guys--” Hyunjin was starting to worry the two would actually fight right then and there. He no longer minded that Jisung was there if he and Seungmin would just stop bickering

“See?” Jisung turned to Hyunjin again. “Isn’t he like this to you? He’s like this to me everyday.”

“No,” Hyunjin laughed again. He realized Seungmin’s behavior towards Jisung was more akin to how he was like with Changbin, and it was nice how he couldn’t exactly relate to what Jisung was talking about. Seungmin had been nothing but nice to him. There were indeed a few times Seungmin would seem to lose his temper when Hyunjin teased him (Hyunjin learned he was really good at mimicking the way Seungmin spoke) or when he would beat him in a game, but during those times, Seungmin would just turn away, tight-lipped. Hyunjin could either tease him a bit more, or let him be quiet for a few minutes before he would come around. With Changbin, though, and Jisung, it seemed, Seungmin was different. With Changbin, especially, he would be quick to argue and throw insults at the older male for the faintest teasing. Changbin even joked Seungmin would insult him for merely existing. Hyunjin knew Changbin wasn’t exactly serious when he said that but the statement did feel strangely accurate.

“Maybe you and Changbin-hyung can talk, though.” He flashed Seungmin a sheepish grin. In return, the scowl Seungmin had been wearing faded.

Jisung gasped, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped open, then reached across the table for Hyunjin’s arm. “Don’t be fooled! He’s being fake! He’s not nice! At all!”

“Hey, I was nice to Changbin-hyung yesterday!” Seungmin retorted, scowling at Hyunjin.

“No, you kinda told him you were gonna bring him a box of hand wash so he can stick it down his throat,” Hyunjin reminded him, giving Seungmin a pointed look before laughing out loud. He wasn’t sure how far he could go with teasing Seungmin, but seeing him get all riled up was both entertaining and endearing.

“He started it? Because he says I wash my hands too often when I’m at your place?” Seungmin said angrily. 

“Wait!” Jisung cried out, slamming his hand on the table and turned to Hyunjin. “First thing, Seungmin’s leveled up. I don’t remember him telling me ever to stick stuff down my throat.” He let out a loud laugh before continuing. “Secondly, you do wash your hands too much, even by hospital standards--”

“You just don’t wash your hands often enough,” Seungmin snarled.

“What…?” was all Hyunjin could say, unable to stop laughing. At the back of his mind, though, he remembered that Jisung had known Seungmin for around five years already, and was with him everyday. He couldn’t help but feel a little jealous, but then, he wasn’t jealous of Jisung constantly being on the receiving end of Seungmin’s grouchiness. With the things Jisung just recounted and what Hyunjin had seen with Changbin, Hyunjin realized that Seungmin was nice to him, but not to a lot of other people. He wondered if that could mean anything; he certainly wished it did. 

“Wanna ask Dr. Jang about it?” Jisung inched back and straightened up in his seat, seemingly to add impact to the challenge he was posing.

“Can’t you think of better things to do?” 

“Ha! If you knew Dr. Jang was going to agree with you, you’d have said ‘yes’ right away.” Jisung sniggered, then flashed a smirk at Hyunjin. “Tell Binnie-hyung what I said, okay?”

“Don’t tell him!” Seungmin turned to Hyunjin, with this time his turn to slam his fist on the table.

Hyunjin could only laugh some more. “I…”

“If you pay for dinner tonight, maybe Hyunjin won’t…” Jisung said in a stage whisper. 

“Now, that’s just mean,” Hyunjin shook his head as soon as he was able to calm down a little. “He’ll have to bribe me some other way.”

Seungmin looked at Hyunjin in disbelief, his eyes wide and his mouth forming a circle. Hyunjin would have felt bad if he didn’t find him the way he looked so attractive. “I can’t believe you’re siding with him.”

“Because even your boyfriend knows I’m right.” Jisung stuck his tongue out at Seungmin then grinned at Hyunjin.

Hyunjin felt his cheeks warm up, while he wondered what made Jisung say he was Seungmin’s boyfriend. Did Seungmin tell Jisung they were official already? To find out, he sneaked a glance at Seungmin, who was staring at Jisung with a blank expression, and noticed that his ears had turned pink. That told Hyunjin he hadn’t yet.

Jisung turned to Seungmin, then to Hyunjin, looking like they had just asked him to solve a calculus problem out of the blue. “Wait, why are you guys suddenly so quiet…? I mean, if Seungmin goes regularly enough to your place that Binnie-hyung noticed how often he washes his hands then…? And why was Seungmin asking me yesterday what’s a cool way of calling someone cute? I assumed it was for you, Hyunjin?” 

Hyunjin wasn’t really sure what to say. If he just denied it flat out, he wasn’t sure how Seungmin would take that, and he could admit that he’d feel a little hurt if Seungmin did that. Technically, though, he couldn’t say that Jisung was right because he and Seungmin hadn’t really agreed on anything. It could be presumptuous to confirm what Jisung said. All he could really do was stare at Jisung with his mouth hanging open. “We…”

Jisung looked at them in anticipation. “What.. why can’t you guys say anything? Is it because you’re actually married already? Or you guys are not yet…?” His voice turned frantic. “Shit, Woojin-hyung and I have a bet over it. I was sure you guys were already official--”

“You’re a dumbass,” Seungmin spoke all of a sudden, without looking at anyone in particular. Hyunjin couldn’t help but worry that it was directed to him. But then, he didn’t know what answer Seungmin expected anyway, and why Seungmin didn’t just answer it himself. Hyunjin couldn’t help but feel a bit of resentment towards him. It was always Seungmin who had been ambiguous anyway. Hyunjin couldn’t understand why he was the only one who seemed to be agonizing over what their relationship really was. Was he the only one who wanted to make things definite? Didn’t Seungmin care?

Hyunjin then immediately felt guilty for feeling resentful.

“Let’s… order some food, shall we?” he said, forcing a smile. He looked at Seungmin, who was still glaring at Jisung.

“Okay?” Jisung said, still looking confused. 

\---

On their way back to their table from ordering their food, they passed by the sink where customers could wash their hands, and Jisung teased Seungmin about hanging out there. This prompted the two of them to bicker with each other again. Hyunjin barely understood half of what they talked about, though he could guess they were bringing up past misdeeds from their five years in university together so far. Jisung and Seungmin were still immensely entertaining to watch argue, so Hyunjin continued to laugh along. He tried his best to commit to memory as much of what they were talking about as well. 

“Oh, wait, Seungmin, the game we’ve been waiting for since last sem? It came out a couple of months ago!” Jisung brought up as soon as he finished chewing a piece of his burrito. “Have you played it yet?” Jisung asked, about to tug at the sleeve of Seungmin’s jacket until he realized that his fingers were glistening with oil. 

Seungmin nodded, without looking up from his own burrito then gave Hyunjin a brief glance. “Yeah, we’ve played it.” 

“Oh, is the two-player mode really good?” Jisung asked, his eyes wide and looking thoroughly fascinated. “Not that I’ve tried it at all but that’s what the reviews-- Wait! You’ve played it without telling me?!” he suddenly demanded, looking genuinely hurt by the realization.

Seungmin rolled his eyes. “Do I need your permission to play it?”

“No, but I’ve been looking for someone to play it with for ages!” The frown on his face deepened. 

Hyunjin found himself without much thought, except for that of keeping Seungmin and Jisung from bickering with each other again. “The A.I for the single-player mode seriously sucks, but the gameplay is pretty great.”

It only seemed to have make matters worse for Jisung, though. “Now I really wanna play it,” Jisung whined, with the corners of his lips turned downwards and turned to Seungmin. “Let’s play it at your place, Seungmin.”

“You know we can’t play anything against each other,” Seungmin pointed out, before he took a bite out of his meal. “And my TV’s broken.”

Jisung scowled at Seungmin in response, looking completely unconvinced. Hyunjin knew Seungmin was telling the truth, though, or at least it was what Seungmin had told him before, too. “Really, now? If it’s broken, where have you been playing?”

Seungmin lowered his burrito from his mouth then shot Hyunjin a glance, which Jisung seemed to have caught in no time.

“You’ve been playing at Hyunjin’s?!” Jisung’s voice practically rang across the entire restaurant. Before waiting for Seungmin to answer, he turned to Hyunjin with a pleading look. “Can we play at your place? Please! Tonight! After we eat?”

Hyunjin couldn’t find it in him to say no. Jisung looked like he was going to cry if he wouldn’t be given the chance to play, and Hyunjin didn’t want Jisung feeling worse on his conscience. He only stared at the other, blinking and with his mouth hanging open. “Uh…”

“Silence means yes!” Jisung suddenly declared, pumping a fist in the air. “Thank you, Hyunjin!”

\---

It took three rounds of rock-paper-scissors to determine who was teaming up with who. Changbin offered to join which of the two teams was going to have Jisung, pointing out that Jisung was handicapped since he’d never played the game before. Despite Jisung’s (“I can master a game in just a few rounds, you’ll see!” and Seungmin’s (“We can’t take any chances, no!”) initial objections to the proposal, the teams ended up being Jeongin and Seungmin versus Jisung, Hyunjin and Changbin.

“Well, if Jeongin and I win, it only means we’re that much better,” Seungmin pointed out as he picked up the controller up from the coffee table and settled into one end of the sofa.

Changbin sat on the other end, and shrugged. “Good for you, I guess,” was all he answered in a flat tone.

Seungmin shot Changbin a glare, but before he could say anything, the game began. Jisung and Jeongin cheered for their respective teammates and taunted their opponents loudly, and laughed every so often when the other said something funny. Hyunjin watched them, laughing and relieved that the two seemed to get along. 

His mind, though, kept going back to what Jisung said during dinner. He hoped he could get some time alone with Seungmin soon. With all their friends wondering and guessing about what Hyunjin and Seungmin had going on, he felt even more pressured to clear it up.

Hyunjin’s thoughts were interrupted by the sight of Changbin suddenly standing up and shrugging at everyone with an overly arrogant look on his face. Seungmin remained seated in the sofa, and looked up at him, seething. 

“Well. What now?”

Seungmin stood up from his seat and grudgingly handed the controller to Jeongin without a word, who received it with his ever-present huge grin. “What now, indeed?” he asked Changbin tauntingly.

“Do you ever stop smiling?” Jisung asked, all of a sudden. Jeongin only chuckled and smiled, unsurprisingly.

Seungmin sat on the armrest beside Jeongin, and kept his eyes glued on the game. Once the game started, Jisung cheered loudly once more, taunting both Jeongin and Seungmin about their allegedly inevitable loss. Seungmin remained quiet, and only responded to Jisung by throwing him a glare every so often. As the match wore on, though, Jisung grew quiet, with Jeongin’s character beating Changbin’s to a pulp.

At the end of the round, Jeongin and Seungmin exchanged high fives with looks gleeful enough to make it seem like they won the lottery. Changbin only shrugged and set the game controller aside, while Jisung gaped at the screen, then at Changbin.

“Binnie-hyung!!” he cried out loud. “What the hell were you doing?”

Hyunjin would have just laughed off his team's loss in this round, but his eyes were fixed on Seungmin and Jeongin huddled close together to celebrate their victory. They exchanged high fives once again, while they laughed and sniggered and exchanged playful insults with Changbin and Jisung. Hyunjin thought it was amazing how they seemed to hit it off so quickly, when Seungmin seemed to have taken forever to warm up to him. 

“Hyunjin-ah, your turn,” Changbin called out, holding the controller out for Hyunjin to take. 

Hyunjin chuckled nervously and reached out for the controller hesitantly. Midway through, he pulled his hand back. “Maybe Jisung should go first,” he suggested with a forced laugh. He realized he just wasn’t in the mood.

Everyone turned to frown at him.

“I mean, Jisung said he's been dying to play since forever,” he pointed out, turning to Jisung in hopes that he'll confirm this.

Jisung then shrugged, and walked over to take the controller from Changbin with a crooked smile. “Well, if Hyunjin thinks it's time to unleash our team's secret weapon then I trust his judgment.”

Changbin scoffed, then stood up from the sofa to have Jisung take his seat. “You’re our secret weapon? Wouldn’t this be your first time playing?”

“Sssh, you can thank me later.” Jisung reached out to give Changbin an unsolicited pat on the shoulder. This, at least, made Hyunjjn laugh genuinely.

“Jeongin, beat him to a pulp. Make him regret even coming here,” Seungmin instructed with all seriousness, as if he was discussing with Jeongin a matter of life and death. Jeongin grinned in response and flashed Seungmin a thumbs up sign. 

The sight of the exchange was quick to end Hyunjin's respite from his mess of thoughts. He was back to thinking about how Jeongin and Seungmin suddenly seem like they'd known each other for ages, and then scolding himself that it was just because of the game and he should stop making such a big deal out of it. The argument ran back and forth several times over in his head, until a pretty hard tap on the shoulder from Changbin broke the cycle.

“Hyung?” Hyunjin almost jumped back in surprise. He didn't notice Changbin had taken the spot beside him and that Jeongin and Jisung's match had started and Jeongin was well on his way to winning.

“You okay?” Changbin spoke in a hushed tone, miraculously managing to make himself heard despite Jisung yelling every time Jeongin's character landed a hit on his, which was pretty often.

Hyunjin found himself unable to answer, and he only stared at Changbin in response.

Changbin turned his gaze back to the screen and gave Hyunjin a light pat on the back. By this time, though, Jisung's defeat was already being announced on the screen.

“That was totally not fair!” Jisung put the controller down and turned to face Jeongin and Seungmin. “This is my first time playing! Wait until I get the hang of it!”

“Thanks for the perfect score, Secret Weapon,” Jeongin grinned at Jisung and adjusted his glasses. He then turned towards Seungmin, who was throwing his head back in laughter, and exchanged a high-five with him. “Hyunjin-hyung! Your turn!” he called out.

Hyunjin still wasn’t in the mood to play the game, and not against Jeongin who would surely beat him. He forced out a laugh as he tried to come up with an excuse. “It’ll be no fun, we play all the time.”

Jeongin turned around in his seat to give Hyunjin a confused look. Seungmin, who had quieted from earlier, looked at him the same way.

“Hyunjin-ah! Avenge my defeat!” Jisung cried out and walked over towards Hyunjin to pull him towards the sofa. “We have to win this! So they’ll pay for pizza!”

“I don’t know where Jisung got the pizza from, but come on, Hyunjin!” Seungmin urged, grinning as well. “Let’s get this over and done with!”

“Let’s have Jisung play another round instead. I don’t think the previous round was fair enough, it was his first time playing.” Hyunjin gave Jisung a light pat on the back and laughed, a little more genuinely this time. He was almost tempted to play when even Seungmin spoke up already, so he thought maybe he’d be in the mood for it soon enough. “You said you trust my judgment, right? Go at them, Secret Weapon.” He playfully pumped his fist in the air. From the corner of his eye, Hyunjin saw Changbin throw him a frown.

“Fine!” Jisung threw his hands up in the air, seemingly reluctant to play again. “Well, honestly, I just let you guys win earlier as part of my strategy.” He walked over to the sofa and stretched his arms in front of him, then took the controller and sat down.

Jeongin looked both dumbfounded and immensely entertained. “Seungmin-hyung, from what zoo did you pick this guy up?”

Seungmin laughed out loud at Jeongin’s question, even clapping his hands in great amusement. Hyunjin tried to laugh along. Jeongin was indeed funny, and Seungmin’s laugh was infectious, but it was hard when he couldn’t stop thinking about how he wished he could make Seungmin laugh that easily himself. 

Jisung fired something back in response, but Hyunjin was too absorbed into his thoughts yet again that the rest of their exchange failed to make sense. How come Jeongin got along with Seungmin so quickly and easily? Hyunjin wasn’t exactly jealous, but he was starting to doubt if Seungmin liked him at all when, in comparison to his cousin and a whole lot of other people, probably, he really wasn’t that much of a fun person to be around with. The sound of Seungmin, and even Changbin, laughing along to Jisung and Jeongin’s exchange of insults didn’t help. If anything, they only made the thoughts in his head seem louder.

He decided he needed to get out of the apartment for a bit to clear his head. 

“Hey, guys, I’m gonna sprint to the convenience store to get us some snacks!” Hyunjin called out as he made his way as swiftly as he could to the coat rack by the door. He didn’t make his voice too loud, and hoped he could just slip out without anyone noticing. 

“I’ll go with you!” 

To Hyunjin’s surprise, Seungmin stood up from his seat and raised his hand. Without waiting for Hyunjin to say yes or no, he walked over to where the coat rack was and took his own one off the hook. Hyunjin wasn’t sure exactly how to feel about this. It would be nice to go out for a walk with Seungmin, but in this instance, he was getting out to clear his thoughts Seungmin tagging along wasn’t going to be very helpful, or at least, he couldn’t imagine how he could be, when these thoughts were about Seungmin himself.

“You don’t have to, it’s really cold outside and I won’t be long,” Hyunjin tried to convince him to stay, while hoping the snapback he put on would hide how uneasy he was feeling. “It’s probably cold outside.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m getting sick of Jisung already,” Seungmin replied to him with a chuckle.

“I heard that!” Jisung yelled while his eyes remained glued to the screen. Beside Jisung, Changbin was glancing at the two of them. Hyunjin wasn’t sure what to make of that, either. 

“You were meant to hear it!” Seungmin called out in response as he finished buttoning up his coat. “Let’s go?” 

Hyunjin pressed his lips into a thin smile and gave up on formulating some excuse to go by himself, and resigned himself to the idea that today was one of those days he couldn’t get what he wanted. “Yeah.”

As soon as they were outside the apartment, Seungmin stretched out his arms and yawned. 

“Tired?” Hyunjin asked as he and Seungmin started walking side by side along the apartment building’s hallway. He made a conscious effort to maintain a bit of distance between them, but it didn’t seem obvious enough for Seungmin to notice. The other only walked with his gaze turned straight ahead.

Seungmin shrugged and flashed Hyunjin a small smile. “A little. My body clock’s still messed up. I couldn’t sleep at all last night. Also, Jeongin keeps winning, it’s getting a little boring to watch.”

Hyunjin chuckled softly and gave Seungmin a playful frown. “Your last message said you were going to sleep. Liar!”

“I fell asleep after that! But I woke up an hour later and then…” Seungmin let a sigh speak of how sleep didn’t happen for him afterwards. “I was tempted to call you, actually.”

Hyunjin genuinely felt dismayed that Seungmin didn’t. He missed having long, late-night calls with him. Their calls had been short while Seungmin was on vacation. With the time zone difference, one of them was always too tired to stay on the call for long. “Why didn’t you?”

“I guessed you were asleep.” Seungmin beat Hyunjin to pressing on the elevator button for them to go down.

Hyunjin looked up to the ceiling and tried to remember what time he fell asleep the night before. “Fair enough, you guessed right,” he chuckled as he lowered his gaze to his shoes. “What would you have wanted us to talk about, though?”

“I have no idea,” Seungmin laughed. The elevator doors slid open just then, and Seungmin stepped in, briefly glancing over his shoulder to see that Hyunjin had followed him inside.

Seungmin’s answer gave Hyunjin mixed feelings. A part of him thought it was a nice to hear that Seungmin didn’t exactly need a reason to call him and talk to him, because it was the same for him. Truthfully, Seungmin could talk to him about things as mundane as how bad the traffic was in Cheongdam-dong, or tell for the umpteenth time the story of how an elevator had crashed into an upper floor of their apartment building when he was in middle school, and Hyunjin would have enjoyed it nonetheless. He just liked listening to Seungmin talk, Hyunjin didn’t know why and he didn’t think there should be a reason why.

Another part of him was disappointed, though, that there was yet again no indication that Seungmin wanted to talk about them. It only enforced his feeling that he was the only worrying about it.

Perhaps it was about time Hyunjin asked. This was the first time they were by themselves since Seungmin got back, after all. As soon as he opened his mouth, though, he felt his throat tighten, as if all the hesitation and worries he’d kept in for the past three weeks formed a lump in his throat and blocked his voice from coming out.

Seungmin must have noticed he’d gone quiet and decided to explain himself further. “I mean, probably… I don’t know. I just thought you, that’s all.”

That drew up the edges of Hyunjin’s lips into a small smile. “That’s nice,” he managed to say. The lump in his throat seemed to have shrunk, if not disappeared altogether. Seungmin thought of him, that was heartwarming enough for him to hear.

“Is it…?” Hyunjin noticed Seungmin turn away sharply, and in the elevator’s dim lights, he saw Seungmin’s ears turn red. In an instant, he found himself in a better mood than he’d been in the entire day, a mood good enough that he even felt like teasing Seungmin.

“Why do you make it seem like it isn’t a big deal?” Hyunjin asked playfully and leaned back against the elevator.

“Because it’s not!” Seungmin retorted. He turned towards Hyunjin, stared for what was probably a half-second, then sharply turned away again.

Hyunjin couldn’t help but laugh, amused by how Seungmin was practically pressed against the opposite corner of the elevator. He opened his mouth to say something, but then the elevator doors opened and Seungmin stepped out and walked briskly ahead of him.

“Seungmin!” Hyunjin called out, quickening his pace to catch up before Seungmin could exit the apartment building. “Are you angry?”

Seungmin’s lips, again formed the straight line that would indicate he was some shade of upset. Hyunjin immediately regretted teasing him. It wasn’t the first time he’d teased Seungmin, and he thought what he said may not even pass for teasing, but maybe he was wrong in thinking that and he’d gone overboard this time. 

To his relief, though, Seungmin shook his head, just a few seconds after Hyunjin had caught up with him. He kept his gaze ahead of him, though, as if he didn’t want to look at Hyunjin. 

“Okay, that’s good,” he replied, though truthfully, Hyunjin wasn’t sure what to make of Seungmin’s response. Maybe Seungmin was only saying he wasn’t upset, but he really actually was. He wondered what was wrong with what he asked, though. Perhaps his teasing had come off as too presumptuous. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal for Seungmin indeed, or Seungmin hadn’t intended for what he said to be taken as a big deal, but Hyunjin’s teasing was more or less putting words in Seungmin’s mouth. After all, don’t people generally think of calling their friends occasionally? Hyunjin felt his heart sink at the thought.

“Hey, did I say anything wrong…?” Hyunjin asked worriedly as he took hold of Seugmin’s wrist, trying to make sure the other wasn’t going to stomp off once more. 

There was a bit of relief to be had in the fact that Seungmin didn’t try to break off Hyunjin’s hold. Again, though, Seungmin only shook his head. A second later, he opened his mouth and mumbled a barely audible, “No, you didn’t.”

Hyunjin felt the need to explain himself anyway, unconvinced that Seungmin wasn’t in any way pissed. He wasn’t used to Seungmin acting like this, and the last thing he wanted was the night ending with Seungmin thinking of him as a jerk. “Well, I just want to say, if it isn’t a big deal for you, then it is for me. It’s a big deal to me that you thought of me.” He pressed his lips shut immediately to stop himself from speaking any further, so he could hear as soon as possible what Seungmin had to say to that, if the latter would say anything at all, that is.

Seungmin, though, remained quiet, but Hyunjin noticed he had slowed down. This prompted Hyunjin to turn his eyes towards Seungmin instead of straight ahead. He found the other looking in the other direction, as if there was something across the street that had interested him. 

Hyunjin concluded he wasn’t getting his answer. He felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him, almost prompting him to groan out loud. It did seem to reach his hands, however, and he found his hold on Seungmin’s wrist loosening.

It was then that Seungmin pulled his wrist away, and instead, slowly slid his hand into Hyunjin’s.

Hyunjin was so surprised that he had to look at their hands twice to make sure it was real, that Seungmin was indeed holding his hand. It wasn’t the first time that they held hands, but for Seungmin to do that just as Hyunjin was about to let go must have meant something. The weariness that he had started to feel began to melt away. He opened his mouth to say something, though he wasn’t sure entirely what.

Seungmin, though, beat him to it. “The truth is, I think about you a lot, probably too much.” 

Hyunjin frowned, and he was almost tempted to let go of Seungmin’s hand in disappointment in what he heard. “Is it a bad thing…? Thinking of me…?”

He saw Seungmin shake his head vigorously. “No! It’s just… when I was away, it felt a little silly that all I could think of was… what if you were there, too, and how nice that would be. Or something. Like, I was in front of these huge, grand monuments, they were really great, but instead of thinking about history and whatever, I was... yeah.” Hyunjin saw Seungmin turn his gaze to the other side of the street again.

Seungmin would usually be more eloquent than this. The edges of Hyunjin’s lips curled upwards to form a teasing smile at the way Seungmin struggled to say those things. “So you missed me?”

“I suppose… that’s the colloquial way of saying it,” Seungmin replied hesitantly.

“Colloquial,” Hyunjin repeated after him, laughing. He wasn’t exactly sure what was making him laugh, though. It could be because he was feeling like clouds were lifting from within his own mind, or because of the way Seungmin responded. Seungmin had never said outright that he missed Hyunjin during his trip, but he imagined that what he just heard was just as heartwarming and genuine, if not more so. 

“I wasn’t sure, I did feel like you did, but you never really said so I’ve been wondering,” Hyunjin finally said when he’d stopped laughing, but with a hint of sadness. He paused afterwards and immediately regretted saying that. The intention had been to tease, but he guessed all the stress from the second guessing he’d been doing during the past three weeks spilled over into his tone. A part of him thought it was good that he was honest about how he felt during their time apart, but at the same time, he worried that it could change Seungmin’s opinion of him. “But it doesn’t matter. I’m just glad to hear it now.”

He heard Seungmin let out a soft sigh. “I’m sorry. I’m just not good at... saying things.”

It was Hyunjin’s turn to shake his head. “It’s fine, you said it anyway and it’s made me really happy.”

“I am. Trying. To get better at it, though.”

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow, not quite sure he was understanding what point Seungmin was trying to get across. “Oh? At… saying things?”

In the darkness, Hyunjin could see Seungmin nod. “You have a really nice way of making people -- me -- feel special. You always say the nicest things so simply and with so much sincerity and you remember things about me that I don’t even remember ever telling you about. I just thought, if I could just... be the slightest bit like that for you, it could be nice. Especially now that you’ve said you weren’t even sure that I missed you -- I want to say, of course, I did, you idiot -- but then you weren’t being an idiot. I didn’t exactly try to make it obvious.”

Maybe Seungmin was right that he needed to get better at expressing himself. Hyunjin wasn’t going to easily forget how hard he’d been trying to figure out how Seungmin really felt about him for the past few weeks, or how he even felt resentful towards Seungmin just a few hours ago for not seeming the slightest bit concerned about their relationship status. At the same time, though, he didn’t think Seungmin should entirely change that part of him either, or that was entirely Seungmin’s fault. Hyunjin felt it was mostly on himself for overthinking.

“No, no, I was just being dumb,” he responded with a shake of a head. “Things don’t have to be spelled out for me all the time. I mean… I guess, that’s indeed the case right now, or I get really confused and start overthinking, but… I also want-- I need to learn how to not be like that.”

“Maybe you do need to- but maybe you’re also being too hard on yourself?” Hyunjin saw Seungmin looking up at him this time, with a gentle look of concern that could hardly be seen with only the street lights. Hyunjin felt lucky to catch it, though. Knowing that Seungmin wasn’t exactly generous with affection only made the concern he was showing seem more genuine. 

“I think it’s part of your being thoughtful, and your thoughtfulness in general is awfully nice, I really wouldn’t... trade it for the world, if it were up to me.” Seungmin paused and took a deep breath before continuing. “It’s when your thoughtfulness turns to worrying about how other people see you that it becomes a problem. It’s something I think all human beings worry about, but you’re… it wears you down, doesn’t it?”

Hyunjin knew Seungmin was right, he’d always been aware of that at the back of his mind. Worrying about the image people around him have of him seemed to come as second nature to him. He had already told Seungmin early on how distressed he would get when he would think people dismiss him as just another good-looking guy. His worrying only grew worse with people who were actually close to him and important to him. He worried about what he was to them. With his cousin Jeongin, he often wondered if he was acting mature enough to be a good example of an older brother and relative. With Changbin, his best friend and business partner, he worried if Changbin viewed him as an equal he could rely upon or just another person he had to take care of and tolerate. 

Recently, though, the deepest of his worries, he knew, was with Seungmin himself. He worried a lot about how Seungmin saw him, that was why Hyunjin had been second-guessing every question he could ask or every action he could take, more so than he would with any other person in his life at the moment.

“I can’t help it, I don’t know…” Hyunjin trailed off. “How do you see me? Should I not be worrying about that?”

That stopped Seungmin in his tracks, which made Hyunjin stop, too. Truthfully, he was surprised at what he had just asked, but he didn’t regret it for once, as afraid as he was of what the response could be. It was Seungmin who told him to stop worrying, after all. Surely, that meant Seungmin was the person he should start with on that.

The question must have caught Seungmin off-guard, for he looked at Hyunjin with his eyes wide and his mouth slightly ajar, as if he had no idea what he should say. That came as a disappointment to Hyunjin. He thought if Seungmin had something good to say, he would be able to say it without much difficulty. After what seemed like an entire hour of Hyunjin’s heart racing in his chest, though, Seungmin finally spoke.

“I like you... a lot.” Seungmin paused and briefly directed his gaze towards the payment, seemingly choosing his words very carefully. “A lot more than I like most people. A lot differently, too, because you’re nice - and kind - to me in a way that’s different from the way other people would be nice to me.” 

Seungmin went quiet, prompting Hyunjin to hold his breath, and any urge to speak and wait if the other had more to say. 

“I see you as… the person I like spending time with the most- the person I want to be with.”

It wasn’t the direct answer Hyunjin had hoped to hear, despite knowing that Seungmin would probably struggle with that, but he found his insides warming up, nonetheless. It wasn’t just because it was flattering and a joy to hear that Seungmin saw him that way, but because he knew that was how Hyunjin himself saw Seungmin, too. It was what he needed to hear from Seungmin, to clear his doubts from when Jisung showed up out of the blue, or from when he saw Seungmin getting along with Jeongin so easily.

“That’s… exactly how I see you, too,” Hyunjin replied softly.

He saw Seungmin’s lips curl up to form a smile, too, then felt the other tug lightly at his hand. “So, are you still worried? About how I see you, at least?”

Hyunjin shook his head and brushed his thumb along Seungmin’s hand, unable to help but grin widely. They walked on quietly for a while after that, with their hands clasped together as they took one slow step after the other, until the convenience store they had meant to go to soon came into view. They hadn’t gone that far from the apartment, but Hyunjin felt like they had talked about so much already, or maybe the revelations were just that unexpected that he felt that way. They stopped at the break in the sidewalk railings for the pedestrian lane. Hyunjin turned his gaze towards the signal lights, and waited for the light for pedestrians turn green.

To his surprise, it was Seungmin who broke the silence.

“Actually, I tagged along with you because I was hoping we could talk about… where we’re going. I mean, not about going to the convenience store, but, you know…” He heard Seungmin let out a deep sigh. “I shouldn’t- We shouldn’t have taken this long, really.”

Hyunjin turned to him and blinked, surprised because he thought he knew what Seungmin meant. Not only had Hyunjin been agonizing over the exact same thing on his own for weeks now, it was Seungmin who brought it up. “Us?”

“Yes.” 

“I’ve been wanting to do that. For a while now, I just wasn’t sure if you--” Hyunjin cut himself off, pushing back every urge to ask Seungmin why he hadn’t brought it up earlier, or why he didn’t seem like he wanted to. Now that they were there, he couldn’t let the conversation go astray. This chance had seemed to take forever to arrive. Besides, with what they had talked about so far, the reason for why it took them so long to finally talk about what their relationship was seemed to have become irrelevant.

“So… what do you want us to be?” Hyunjin asked just as he saw Seungmin open his mouth. He had no idea what Seungmin was about to say, but he just had to let that out before the opportunity would slip again. 

The light ahead of them turned green, but neither of the moved. The driver inside the car that had just stopped to let them pass threw his hands up in the air and stepped on the gas.

After a long pause and a few more cars passing them by, Seungmin finally answered. “I… want us to be together, like officially together. With labels. And stuff. All that.”

“That’s what I want, too. I like you and I want us to be together, too. With all that.” Hyunjin found himself smiling softly at Seungmin. He felt a huge weight being lifted off his shoulders. More than that, he felt like he was being lifted off of the ground with how light his heart suddenly felt. He gave Seungmin’s hand a squeeze, to make sure that if he was indeed about to float off the ground, he’d be taking Seungmin with him.

\--- _end_.


End file.
